Cairo's state security court has sentenced a Jordanian and an Israeli to 10 years in jail on charges of spying for Israel.

Bashar Abu-Zaid, a Jordanian communications engineer, was charged with planting communication networks in Egypt and using them to spy on Egyptian officials in exchange for payment from Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency.

The Israeli official in the case, Ofer Haray, was sentenced in absentia.

Both were accused of transmitting phone calls to Israel with aims of monitoring the whereabouts of Egyptian police and army personnel.

Abu-Zaid was arrested in Egypt in 2011 and was referred to court in August of the same year.

The trial comes amid a recent spate of charges levied against Egyptians for spying on behalf of Israel.

Earlier in February, three Egyptians were ordered to stand trial on charges of espionage and supplying Israel with information that harmed Egypt's national security. Five alleged Mossad agents were also charged and will be tried in absentia.

In October 2011, Israel freed 25 Egyptians in exchange for the release of a US-Israeli, Ilan Grapel, who had been detained in Cairo for four months on spying charges.