The authorities in Egypt say they have arrested an Egyptian engineer and charged him with spying for Israel.

An alleged Russian accomplice has also been charged in his absence.

The two are accused of supplying information on the political, economic and military situation in Egypt, and harming the nation's interest.

Court officials were quoted as saying the Egyptian, named as Sherif Fawzi Mohamed al-Filal, had been recruited by the Israeli intelligence service Mossad while he was in Spain.

Strained relations

If convicted, the accused could face up to life imprisonment with hard labour.

The whereabouts of Mr al-Filal's alleged accomplice, whose name was given as Grigory Jefins, is unknown.

Israeli and Russian diplomatic representatives in Cairo said they were not aware of the cases.

The case comes at a difficult time in relations between Israel and Egypt.

Last week, Cairo recalled the Egyptian ambassador in response to what it called escalating Israeli aggression against the Palestinians.

Israel said it regretted the decision and said it hoped it would be short-lived.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, however, said the decision would not be reversed without a meaningful change in Israeli policy.

In 1997, Egypt sentenced an Israeli businessman, Azzam Azzam, to 15 years in jail after convicting him of spying for Israel.