Hamas | intelNews.org

News you may have missed #378

June 28, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Knesset thanks Hamas leader’s son for spying for Israel. The Israeli Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee has sent a letter of thanks to Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of Hamas West Bank leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef, who from 1998 to 2007 spied for Israel’s Shin Bet security service.
Analysis: Will McChrystal’s intel staff survive his exit? In the shock wave following General Stanley McChrystal’s abrupt summons from Kabul, there were rumors in special operations circles that his senior staff had been relieved of duty, too. But the fevered buzz appears to have been false, or at least premature.
Iran embassy dismisses Czech report on weapons smuggling. The Iranian embassy in Prague has criticized the Czech counterintelligence’s (BIS) 2009 annual report, which says that Iran strove to gain access to component parts that can be used in the production of mass destruction weapons.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Analysis: Will McChrystal's intel staff survive his exit?, 0 Iran embassy dismisses Czech report on weapons smuggling, 0 Knesset thanks Hamas leader's son for spying for Israel, Czech Republic, Czech Security Information Service (BIS), espionage, Hamas, Iran, Iranian embassy in the Czech Republic, Israel, Knesset Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense, Mosab Hassan Yousef, News, news you may have missed, Palestine, Prague (Czech Republic), Shin Bet, Stanley McChrystal, United States, weapons smuggling, West Bank

Alleged Mossad agent arrested in Poland

June 14, 2010 by intelNews 6 Comments

"Uri Brodsky"

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Authorities in Poland have detained an alleged Israeli agent who may be connected with the assassination of a senior Hamas operative last January. German newsmagazine Der Spiegel quoted anonymous government prosecutors in Berlin, who said the man works for Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, and was arrested upon arriving in Poland on June 4. The alleged agent, whose travel documents identify him as “Uri Brodsky”, is wanted by German prosecutors for using a forged German passport to enter Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in January of this year. He then joined a team of Mossad assassins to kill Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a Hamas weapons procurer, who was found dead in his luxury hotel room on January 20. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, Dubai, extraditions, forgery, Germany, Hamas, Israel, Kidon, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Mossad, News, Palestine, Poland, travel documentation, United Arab Emirates, Uri Brodsky

Israeli envoy ‘in alarm’ after Australia expels Mossad agent

May 25, 2010 by intelNews 3 Comments

Yuval Rotem

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
The Israeli ambassador to Australia, who was in Israel on business, expedited his return to Canberra yesterday, immediately after Australia announced the expulsion of Israel’s senior Mossad representative in the country. Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reports that ambassador Yuval Rotem decided to cut short his trip to Israel “in alarm”, as the “escalated crisis” between Israel and Australia appears to be deepening. As intelNews readers read on April 14, Australia had announced the pending expulsion after official investigations by Australian law enforcement and intelligence authorities revealed beyond doubt that the Israeli spy agency Mossad had forged at least four Australian passports. The passports were among several Western identity documents employed by Mossad agents in targeting Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, who was assassinated in a luxury Dubai hotel last January. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, Australia, Canberra (Australia), diplomatic expulsions, Dubai, forgery, Hamas, Israel, Israeli embassy in Australia, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Mossad, News, Stephen Smith, travel documentation, UK, United Arab Emirates, Yuval Rotem

News you may have missed #358

May 25, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Ex-CIA analyst to lead US declassification center. Sheryl Jasielum Shenberger, who currently serves as a Branch Chief at the CIA Declassification Center, has been named as the first director of the recently established US National Declassification Center. The Center’s aim is to eliminate the backlog of over 400 million pages of classified records by the end of 2013.
Hamas expels Egyptian spy from Gaza. A senior Egyptian intelligence officer, who had allegedly “infiltrated the region to collect information on residents and the Hamas government” was arrested and expelled from Gaza on Monday.
Israeli nuclear whistleblower back in prison. More than six years after his release from 18 years in solitary confinement, Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu has been sentenced to another three months in prison for allegedly “contacting foreign agents”.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Ex-CIA analyst to lead US declassification center, 0 Hamas expels Egyptian spy from Gaza, 0 Israeli nuclear whistleblower back in prison, CIA, CIA Declassification Center, declassification, diplomatic expulsions, Egypt, Gaza Strip, Hamas, Israel, Israel's nuclear arsenal, lawsuits, Mordechai Vanunu, News, news you may have missed, nuclear proliferation, Palestine, Sheryl Jasielum Shenberger, US National Declassification Center, whistleblowing

News you may have missed #354

May 19, 2010 by intelNews 3 Comments

Germany arrests Libyans on spy charges. Two Libyans have been arrested in Berlin on suspicion of working as secret agents, spying on members of the Libyan opposition in Germany. The two, identified only as 42-year-old ‘Adel Ab’ and 46-year-old ‘Adel Al’, are being held in custody in Berlin, pending possible spying charges.
Israeli handler discusses relationship with Hamas spy. Israeli broadsheet Ha’aretz has aired a fascinating interview with ‘Captain Loai’, a Shin Bet operative who handled Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of a senior Hamas official, who was an informant for Israeli intelligence for at least a decade. Note the strong personal connection between handler and informant, which would be considered unprofessional in US intelligence culture.
Analysis: Iran’s murky link to al-Qaeda confounds CIA. It’s one of the enduring mysteries of the US ‘war on terrorism’: what will become of the al-Qaeda leaders and operatives who fled into Iran after 9/11 and have been detained there for years?

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Germany arrests Libyans on spy charges, 0 Iran's murky link to al-Qaeda confounds CIA, 0 Israeli handler discusses relationship with Hamas spy, Adel Ab, Adel Al, al-Qaeda, Berlin (Germany), Captain Loai, CIA, espionage, Germany, Hamas, immigration intelligence, informants, Iran, Israel, Libya, Mosab Hassan Yousef, News, news you may have missed, Palestine, Shin Bet, United States, War on Terrorism

News you may have missed #353

May 18, 2010 by intelNews 2 Comments

Name of British Mossad agent handed to Interpol. Dubai police have identified another suspect in the January murder of Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. He is reportedly a 62-year-old British citizen, who is believed to be currently hiding in western Africa.
Russia jails man for spying for the US. Gennady Sipachyov, a Russian whose age and profession have been kept secret by Moscow, has been sentenced to a four-year sentence for allegedly emailing secret military maps identifying classified Russian military infrastructure to the US Pentagon in 2008. Earlier this month, a Russian court rejected an appeal by another alleged US spy, Igor Sutyagin.
Bulgarian government wants to copy CIA. Bulgaria’s Defense Minister, Anyu Angelov, has proposed the merging of intelligence services to create a mega-structure of the CIA type. Meanwhile, a panel investigating Bulgaria’s communist-era police files has exposed two of the country’s former counterintelligence heads as former communist state security agents.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Bulgarian government wants to copy CIA, 0 Name of British Mossad agent handed to Interpol, 0 Russia jails man for spying for the US, Africa, Anyu Angelov, assassinations, Bulgaria, Cold War, communism, Dubai, espionage, Gennady Sipachyov, Hamas, Igor Sutyagin, Interpol, Israel, Kidon, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Mossad, News, news you may have missed, Russia, UK, United Arab Emirates, United States

CIA ‘used fake British passports’ in kidnap operation

May 17, 2010 by intelNews 1 Comment

British passport

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
British authorities are looking into allegations that a team of CIA agents made use of forged British passports during an abduction operation in 2003. The allegations surfaced last week in Spain, where a team of prosecutors is currently investigating the activities of 13 CIA agents (11 men and two women) who appear to have used the Spanish tourist resort of Majorca as a base for conducting various operations around Europe. Following the example of Italy, which last year convicted several CIA operatives for illegally abducting a Muslim cleric in Milan, Spanish authorities are now considering issuing arrest warrants for the 13 CIA agents. They are all believed to have been involved in the abduction and rendition of German citizen Khaled El-Masri. El-Masri was abducted in Skopje, Macedonia, in 2003, and later transferred on a secret CIA flight to a Syrian prison, where he says he was brutally tortured. He was later released without explanation, once US authorities realized they had the wrong man. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with abductions, assassinations, CIA, Dubai, extraordinary rendition, Germany, Hamas, Israel, Italy, Khaled El-Masri, Kidon, Macedonia, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Majorca (Spain), Mossad, News, Skopje (Macedonia), Spain, Syria, torture, travel documentation, UK, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, United Arab Emirates, United States

News you may have missed #345

May 7, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Mossad assassins fled Dubai through Johannesburg. South African State Security external branch head Moe Shaik has admitted that two Israeli Mossad agents flew to the Oliver R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg from Dubai, after assassinating Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in January.
New CIA deputy director sworn in. CIA Director Leon Panetta swore in his new deputy director Michael J. Morell at a private ceremony yesterday morning at CIA headquarters. A 30-year veteran of the Agency, Morell succeeds Steve Kappes, a veteran officer in the CIA’s clandestine service.
Indian researcher detained for spying in Estonia. An unnamed Indian female doctoral researcher was detained by Estonia’s KaPo secret police over suspicion of technological espionage, according to media reports.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 Indian researcher detained for spying in Estonia, 0 Mossad assassins fled Dubai through Johannesburg, 0 New CIA deputy director sworn in, assassinations, CIA, Dubai, Estonia, Hamas, India, Israel, Johannesburg (South Africa), KaPo (Estonia), Kidon, Leon Panetta, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Michael J. Morell, Moe Shaik, Mossad, News, news you may have missed, OR Tambo International Airport, scientific intelligence, South Africa, Stephen Kappes, travel documentation, United Arab Emirates, United States

UK barring replacement of London’s Mossad resident

May 5, 2010 by intelNews 1 Comment

Mossad seal

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
The British government is officially preventing the replacement of Israeli intelligence service Mossad’s London representative, after it expelled his predecessor six weeks ago. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced the expulsion in March, in response to the use of at least 12 forged British passports by a Mossad hit squad, whose members traveled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, last January, to assassinate Hamas weapons procurer Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. According to Israeli media, the British Foreignand Commonwealth Office has requested written assurances from Israel that it will refrain from using British travel documents in future intelligence operations. But the Israeli government is so far refusing to comply with Britain’s request, claiming that doing so would amount to “an admission of culpability” in the assassination of al-Mabhouh. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, diplomatic expulsions, Dubai, forgery, Hamas, Israel, Israeli embassy in the UK, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, MI6, Mossad, News, travel documentation, UK, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, United Arab Emirates

Comment: Is Palestinian Fatah Spying for Israel?

April 18, 2010 by intelNews 8 Comments

Dahlan

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Gaza-based Palestinian movement Hamas has again accused a senior official of rival Palestinian group Fatah of spying for Israel. Speaking last week from Gaza Damascus, Syria, Hamas official Mohammed Nazal said that Fatah Central Committee member Mohammed Dahlan, who has been tipped for the post of Vice President in Fatah-controlled Palestinian National Authority, is actively gathering information on behalf of Israeli intelligence. Nazal said Hamas received a tip-off about Dahlan from a former security officer in the Palestinian National Authority, who appears to have defected to Hamas. The unnamed informant reportedly met with Hamas defense officials on Friday, and told them that Dahlan had asked him to “collect detailed information” about the March 26 execution of two Palestinians, who were accused by Hamas of working for Israeli intelligence. He also claimed that Dahlan showed him a lengthy list of known Hamas operatives and asked him to determine the precise location of their residences in the Gaza strip. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Abu Fadi, Ahmad Hasnin, assassinations, CIA, coup plots, Dubai, Fatah, Fatah Central Committee, Gaza Strip, General Intelligence (Palestinian National Authority), Hamas, Israel, Jordan, Joseph Fitsanakis, Mahmoud Abbas, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Mohammed Dahlan, Mohammed Nazal, Mossad, Palestine, Palestinian National Authority, Preventive Security Service (Palestinian National Authority), Salam Fayyad, United Arab Emirates, United States, West Bank

Australia to expel Israeli diplomat over Mabhouh assassination

April 14, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Stephen Smith

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Australia has announced that it plans to expel an Israeli diplomat from the country, in connection with forged Australian passports that were used by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. At least four Australian passports were among several Western passports employed by Mossad agents in targeting Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, who was assassinated in a luxury Dubai hotel last January. But the Australian government has said it will delay the planned diplomatic expulsion until it has “further advice” about the case from the country’s intelligence authorities. An investigation by the Australian Federal Police, which was completed last week, appears to have failed to yield enough answers. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with ASIO, assassinations, Asturalian Federal Police, Australia, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, diplomatic expulsions, Dubai, forgery, Hamas, Israel, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Mossad, News, Stephen Smith, travel documentation, UK, United Arab Emirates

Analysis: The limits of Israeli espionage

March 30, 2010 by intelNews 1 Comment

Ronen Bergman

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS| intelNews.org |
Israeli investigative journalist Ronen Bergman (The Secret War with Iran) has written an editorial in Yedioth Ahronoth, in which he argues that Israel’s espionage successes in recent years have failed to bring about significant changes on the strategic level. Bergman briefly recounts the significant post-9/11 reforms in Israeli intelligence, most notably the appointment of Meir Dagan as the director of the Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency. Dagan has “created a new Mossad”, argues Bergman, one that is more narrowly focused in its operations, and more collaborative with foreign intelligence agencies –notably American, Jordanian, Turkish and Indian. This shift in focus and tactics has undeniably helped Israel score some significant espionage victories, including the 2008 assassination of Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyah in Beirut, Lebanon; the seizure of several ships carrying Iranian and Syrian weapons to Hezbollah; as well as the more recent assassination of Hamas military official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Analysis, assassinations, Bashar al-Assad, Damascus (Syria), Dubai, espionage, Hamas, Hezbollah, Imad Mughniyah, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, Israel, Lebanon, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, maritime intelligence, Meir Dagan, Mossad, Palestine, Ronen Bergman, Syria, Syrian nuclear program, United Arab Emirates, weapons smuggling

News you may have missed #316

March 28, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

News videos on UK expulsion of Israeli ‘diplomat’. Commendable video-based amalgamation by Newsy.com of worldwide media comments on the recent expulsion of an Israeli intelligence officer by the British government. The expulsion was in response to the forging of British passports, employed by the Mossad in the killing of Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai last January.
How Khost suicide bomber lured CIA agents to their deaths. According to the CIA’s internal investigation of the killing of seven CIA officers by Humam al-Balawi, in Khost, Afghanistan, last December, the fatal explosion happened as the CIA officers had gathered around Balawi to present him with a cake as a present for his birthday.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 0 How Khost suicide bomber lured CIA agents to their deaths, 0 News videos on UK expulsion of Israeli diplomat, Afghanistan, assassinations, CIA, diplomatic expulsions, Dubai, forgery, Hamas, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, Humam Khalil al-Balawi, Israel, Khost, Kidon, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Mossad, News, news you may have missed, suicide bombings, travel documentation, UK, United Arab Emirates, United States

Breaking news: UK expels Israeli diplomat over Dubai assassination

March 23, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Al-Mabhouh

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS| intelNews.org |
While Israel continues to insist that “there is no proof” of its involvement in January’s assassination of a top Hamas military official, Britain has announced the pending expulsion of an Israeli diplomat over the killing. At least 12 forged British passports were used by a Mossad hit squad, whose members traveled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to assassinate Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, on January 19. Announcing the decision, British foreign secretary David Miliband said that the high quality of the forged passports made it almost certain that “a state intelligence service” was behind the operation, and that London had “compelling reasons” to suspect Israel. He told the British Parliament that “such misuse of British passports is intolerable” and that the fact that it was perpetrated by an ally of the UK added “insult to injury”. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, David Miliband, diplomatic expulsions, Dubai, forgery, Hamas, Israel, Kidon, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Mossad, News, travel documentation, UK, United Arab Emirates

News you may have missed #303

March 7, 2010 by intelNews Leave a comment

Don’t share telecoms data with US, Hezbollah warns Lebanon. Hezbollah has warned the Lebanese government against sharing telecommunications information with the United States. Apparently the US embassy in Beirut sent out a request for “very detailed information on the mobile phone service providers in Lebanon — the stations, the antennas, technical information”. The request probably pertained to Hezbollah’s privately-owned telecommunications network in the country.
Using intelligence from the al-Mabhouh hit. “While the 22-hour period depicted in the Dubai police surveillance video showcased the tactical capabilities of the various teams, it hardly tells the whole story. In order to pinpoint the location of al-Mabhouh on the day of his killing, the organization responsible for this operation would have had to have tracked al-Mabhouh for months, if not years”.