In attempting to construct a credible defence for their client, Hindawi's legal counsel proposed during the trial an alternative interpretation of events, suggesting that Hindawi was being manipulated by Israeli intelligence, which wished to damage and embarrass the Syrian government. The jury was unconvinced by this version of events, and subsequent appeal judges have dismissed such interpretations as entirely lacking in evidence. Historian Benny Morris and journalist Ian Black (Middle East editor of "The Guardian") similarly dismissed this interpretation of events.