Israel | intelNews.org

News you may have missed #0152

October 25, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Madoff befriends Israeli-handled spy in prison. According to legal papers filed last Tuesday, Bernard Madoff, imprisoned for masterminding one of history’s largest financial frauds, is sharing a cell with Jonathan Pollard, an American convicted of selling military secrets to Israel over two decades ago.
Polish undercover agent has cover blown. An undercover agent of Poland’s controversial Anti-Corruption Agency (CBA), known simply as Tomek K. (a.k.a. Tomasz Malecki or Tom Piotrowski) has had his cover blown after seducing Polish television star Weronika Marczuk-Pazura during an anti-corruption investigation. Whoever said undercover work was boring?
Finnish former prime minister says KGB tried to recruit him. In his political memoirs published last week, Paavo Lipponen, who was Finland’s prime minister from 1995 to 2003, reveals the Soviet KGB tried unsuccessfully to recruit him in 1966 and again in the early 1970s.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Anti-Corruption Agency (Poland), Bernie Madoff, CBA (Poland), Cold War, corruption, Finland, honey traps, informants, intelligence recruitment, Israel, Jonathan Jay Pollard, KGB, News, news you may have missed, Paavo Lipponen, Poland, Tom Piotrowski, Tomasz Malecki, Tomek K., USSR, Weronika Marczuk-Pazura

Mysterious self-destructing devices found at Lebanon-Israel border

October 24, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

One of the devices

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Lebanese authorities have revealed the discovery last week of three communications interception devices near the Israel-Lebanon border. Interestingly, two of the devices self-destructed by exploding as Lebanese security personnel were approaching. Members of the Lebanese Armed Forces decided to detonate a third device, fearing that it too might explode at any moment. The three devices were attached to a telecommunications cable on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese village of Houla. Israeli officials have so far refused to address the accusation of the Lebanese government that the devices were planted by Israeli spies. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with 2006 Lebanon War, communications interception, espionage, Hezbollah, Israel, Lebanese Armed Forces, Lebanese Internal Security Forces, Lebanon, News, Syria

News you may have missed #0150

October 23, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Israel’s inside intelligence. If only Israeli security services were as open as the CIA and other US spy agencies, lament Israelis.
Nozette and nuclear rocketry. Here are some of the reasons why the case of scientist Stewart D. Nozette, who was arrested and charged earlier this week under the US Espionage Act, is distressing on several levels.
Perle calls DoD spying whistleblower “a nutcase”. Richard Perle, chairperson of the US Defense Advisory Board under the Bush administration, has called Sibel Edmonds “a nutcase; certifiable”. Last August, Edmonds, a former FBI translator, alleged that Turkish spies had bugged, blackmailed and bribed US politicians, her FBI unit, the State Department, the Pentagon and Congress.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with CIA, espionage, FBI, intelligence oversight, intelligence reform, Israel, MİT (Turkey), News, news you may have missed, nuclear espionage, President's Defense Advisory Board (US), Richard Perle, scientific intelligence, Sibel Edmonds, Stewart David Nozette, Turkey, US Congress, US Department of State, US DoD, whistleblowing

Analysis: US Scientist’s Espionage Arrest Raises Questions

October 22, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Nozette

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Stewart David Nozette, who was arrested by the FBI on October 19, on charges of sharing classified US government data with a man he believed was an Israeli government officer, is to remain in jail. The reason given by the US federal judge in charge of the case is that Nozette might flee to Israel if not confined. However, unlike the case of former US Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Jay Pollard, who was jailed in 1987 for spying on the US for Israel, the government of Israel is said to have had no role in Nozette’s attempted espionage. The FBI itself admits that it “does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf committed any offense under US laws in this case”. This is because Nozette shared classified US government data with an undercover FBI officer posing as a handler of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad. But if this is so, then two important counterintelligence questions are raised: first, how did the FBI know to lure Nozette with an agent posing as an Israeli –as opposed to a Russian or Chinese– handler? Second, why would Nozette flee to –and presumably be protected by– Israel, even though the government of Israel was not involved in this case, according to the FBI? Keep reading →

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with airborne surveillance, Avocet ProJet, Ben-Ami Kadish, Channing Phillips, counterintelligence, espionage, FBI, Ian Allen, Israel, Israel Aerospace Industries, Israel Aircraft Industries, Jonathan Jay Pollard, Lawrence Anthony Franklin, Mossad, NASA, Russia, Stewart David Nozette, travel documentation, United States, US Department of Energy, US DoD, US Navy

Mossad declassifies a document for the first time in its history

October 20, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Mossad logo

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
For the first time in its existence, the Mossad, Israel’s national intelligence agency, has released a document from its secret archive. The secretive spy agency agreed to release its official founding charter in the context of a year-long legal battle with two Israeli daily newspapers, Yedioth Ahronoth and Ha’aretz. Last year, the two papers filed a petition with Israel’s High Court of Justice, claiming that the Mossad, as well as Israel’s internal spy agency Shin Bet, and the country’s Atomic Energy Commission, were not adhering to Israel’s archive laws. According to the petition, the three agencies were breaking the law by “maintaining their own archives and keeping them closed to the general public”. The High Court of Justice is still deliberating the case, but Mossad recently approached Ha’aretz and offered to voluntarily release its founding charter. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Atomic Energy Commission (Israel), David Ben-Gurion, declassification, High Court of Justice of Israel, Israel, Mossad, News, Shin Bet

News you may have missed #0145

October 16, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Alleged Norwegian spies appeal Congo sentence. Two Norwegian citizens arrested last May in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on spying charges have begun an appeal against their sentence. The DRC has ordered Norway to pay $60 million in reparations for the spying incident, but Oslo says the two men had no ties to the Norwegian government.
Mother of Israeli-handled spy sues government. The mother of Muhamad Said Sabr, an Egyptian nuclear engineer convicted in 2007 of spying for Israel, has filed a damage suit against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ambassador to Egypt Shalom Cohen. She claims mental damage as a result of her son’s being recruited by the Mossad.
Pakistan defends spy agencies after week of carnage. Pakistan defended its intelligence agencies Tuesday after a bloody week which saw 125 people killed in a wave of attacks blamed on Taliban militants. Interior Minister Rehman Malik alleged the country’s spy services “foiled at least a hundred attacks before they were carried out”. But local media have reported that the threat to army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi was known in advance by police.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Benjamin Netanyahu, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Israel, lawsuits, Mossad, Muhamad Said Sabr, News, news you may have missed, Norway, Nuclear Energy Authority of Egypt, Pakistan, Rawalpindi, Rehman Malik, Shalom Cohen, Taliban

Iran blames US, Saudis over defection of Iranian nuclear scientist

October 9, 2009 by intelNews 1 Comment

M. Mottaki

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Iran’s foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, has accused American and Saudi Arabian intelligence agencies of complicity in the recent disappearance of an Iranian nuclear scientist. Mottaki’s comments followed revelations in London-based Arabic-language daily, Al-Sharq al-Awsat, that the scientist, Shahram Amiri, defected to the West earlier this year. The paper said the researcher, who worked for the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program, defected during a hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It also claimed that another Iranian nuclear scientist, whose identity has not yet emerged, has disappeared, and may have defected, during a recent visit to the Republic of Georgia. The rumored disappearances may be part of Israel’s ongoing secret war on Iran’s nuclear program, which British newspaper The Daily Telegraph described last February as a covert “decapitation program” by Israeli intelligence, targeting Iran’s nuclear scientists. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, defectors, Georgia, informants, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, Israel, Manouchehr Mottaki, Mecca (Saudi Arabia), News, Qum (Iran), Saudi Arabia, Shahram Amiri, United States

Israel diplomats angry at ex-Mossad man’s ambassadorial appointment

October 7, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Avigdor Lieberman

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Israel’s hardline foreign minister has reportedly angered several Israeli diplomats after announcing that a former Mossad official will be Israel’s ambassador to Turkmenistan. Earlier this week, foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman announced the pending appointment of Reuben Dinal as Israel’s first-ever ambassador to the central Asian nation. Intelligence observers probably remember that Dinal headed the Mossad’s bureau in Russia in the early 1990s, until he was expelled by Moscow in 1996 for allegedly engaging in “undeclared intelligence activities”. Since Turkmenistan’s independence from the Soviet Union, Israel has regarded the central Asian nation as particularly sensitive, not only because of its wealth in energy resources and the predominantly Muslim faith of its population, but also because it borders the Islamic Republic of Iran. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Avigdor Lieberman, Central Asia, diplomacy, espionage, Iran, Israel, Israeli embassy in Russia, Israeli embassy in Turkmenistan, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IzRus, Mossad, News, Reuben Dinal, Russia, Russian Jews, Turkmenistan, USSR

News you may have missed #0130

October 6, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

One in three votes for Karzai was fraudulent, says US diplomat. Hamid Karzai was fraudulently re-elected to Afghanistan’s presidency, according to Peter Galbraith, a US diplomat who was sacked last week from the UN mission in Afghanistan. Galbraith also warned that Karzai, who was handpicked by the US to lead Afghanistan following the US invasion, and whose brother is probably a CIA informant, is not credible with many Afghans following the election fiasco.
US lobbyist for Rep. of Georgia says Russian agents tried to kill him. Paul Joyal, former director of security for the US Senate Intelligence Committee, and a paid lobbyist in the US for the country of Georgia, insists that agents of the Russian government tried to kill him two years ago outside his Washington, DC, home.
Ex-CIA agent says Indian spies operating in Afghanistan. Milt Bearden, former CIA station chief in Pakistan, has told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Indian intelligence operatives were active in Afghanistan, and that “the concerns of Pakistan’s Army are legitimate in this regard”. His words appear to echo complaints expressed last June by Pakistani security officials that Indian intelligence services are helping pro-Taliban warlords fight the Pakistani army in the Afghan borderlands. However, the Pakistanis also said that Israel supplies tribal warlords “with modern technology”, including radio equipment.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Afghanistan, assassinations, CIA, electoral fraud, espionage, Georgia, Hamid Karzai, India, Israel, lobbyists, Milt Bearden, News, news you may have missed, Pakistan, Paul Joyal, Peter Galbraith, Russia, Taliban, United Nations, US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Washington DC, whistleblowing

Conflicting information on expulsion of Israeli diplomat from Russia

October 2, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Nativ logo

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
There is conflicting information about the reasons that led to the expulsion of an Israeli diplomat from Russia. The Russian government said on Thursday that Israeli diplomat Shmuel Polishuk was apprehended by Russian security forces and was asked to leave the country on charges of espionage. But Israeli diplomats claim that Polishuk was not expelled due to espionage activities, but because of “personal behavior inappropriate for a diplomat”, which does not relate to his official work. Other sources said that the Russians agreed not to expel Polishuk on espionage charges after Israel threatened “a counter move”. Interestingly, until his expulsion, Polishuk headed Israel’s Nativ delegation in Russia. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with diplomatic expulsions, Eastern Europe, immigration intelligence, Israel, Israeli embassy in Russia, Nativ (Israel), News, Office of the Israeli Prime Minister, Russia, Shmuel Polishuk, USSR

News you may have missed #0123

October 1, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

Get ready for body cavity airport searches! Security officials are concerned over a tactic newly employed by al Qaeda, whereby suicide bombers store explosives inside their bodies to avoid detection.
Did the US do a deal with Russia on Iran? Two weeks ago, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hinted that Russia could back tougher sanctions against Iran’s nuclear energy program. Does this signify a deal with Washington, namely US scrapping its missile shield program if Moscow would back efforts to impose tougher sanctions against Iran?
Lebanese mayor accused of spying for Israel. Lebanese authorities say Ziad Homsi, mayor of the city of Saadnayel, was recruited by Israeli intelligence in Beijing, China. Lebanon’s immense counterintelligence operation is widening by the hour.

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with airport security, Al-Alam spy ring, al-Qaeda, Beijing (China), China, Dmitry Medvedev, espionage, informants, Iran, Iranian nuclear program, Israel, Lebanon, News, news you may have missed, Russia, Saadnayel (Lebanon), Saudi Arabia, suicide bombings, United States, US Missile Defense Shield, Ziad Homsi

US State Dept. third highest official was espionage suspect, says ex-FBI agent

September 30, 2009 by intelNews 3 Comments

Marc Grossman

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Marc Grossman, Under Secretary of State during the Bush Administration, was suspect in a lengthy counterespionage probe by the FBI, according to a former senior Bureau agent. John M. Cole, an 18-year FBI veteran who worked for the Counterintelligence Division of the Bureau’s National Security Branch, said the investigation into Grossman centered on activities by Turkish and Israeli intelligence in the United States. Cole was speaking to former CIA agent Philip Giraldi, currently of The American Conservative magazine, a paleoconservative publication, which was one of a handful of US media outlets that gave column space to recent revelations of Turkish intelligence activities by FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds. Edmonds, a translator for the FBI, spent seven years trying to get a US court to hear her allegations that Turkish intelligence agents penetrated her unit, the State Department, the Pentagon and Congress. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with blackmail, espionage, FBI, FBI Counterintelligence Division, FBI National Security Branch, Israel, John M. Cole, Marc Grossman, MİT (Turkey), National Whistleblowers Association, News, Philip Giraldi, Sibel Edmonds, Turkey, United States, US Congress, US Department of State, US DoD, US Embassy in Turkey, whistleblowing

Portrait of ex-spy said to be “close with militant Islamists”

September 27, 2009 by intelNews 2 Comments

Alastair Crooke

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Writing for Mother Jones magazine, David Samuels presents an interesting portrait of Alastair Crooke, a former British intelligence agent who brokered deals with the Irish Republican Army, funneled arms to the mujahideen in Afghanistan, spent time with rebel groups in the jungles of Colombia, and later served as British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s eyes and ears in the Middle East. In late 2003, after three decades as an MI6 field officer, he was called home and, in classic British bureaucratic fashion, given a royal honor for his service and then fired from his job. It was rumored in London and in Jerusalem that Crooke had alienated the British prime minister by becoming too closely affiliated with militant Islamists. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Alastair Crooke, Beirut, Conflicts Forum, David Samuels, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, MI6, Palestine, Tony Blair, UK

Busted spy ring in Lebanon was Israel’s top network in the Arab world

September 23, 2009 by intelNews 4 Comments

Hezbollah parade

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
French newspaper Le Figaro has published a well-researched account of an ongoing counterintelligence operation in Lebanon, which has resulted in the dismantling of an enormous network of Israeli spy cells in the country. The paper describes the discovery of the Israeli spy network as “one of the most resounding defeats in [Israel’s] history”. IntelNews has been following the counterintelligence operation from its very beginning last February. Since then, over 70 Lebanese nationals have been charged with conducting espionage operations on behalf of Israel, of whom nearly 40 have been apprehended. According to Lebanese officials, the dismantled spy ring was probably Israel’s most important intelligence network in the Arab world. Read more of this post

Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with Al-Alam spy ring, counterintelligence, espionage, FSB, Hezbollah, Israel, Lebanon, Mossad, News, Russia

News you may have missed #0110

September 19, 2009 by intelNews Leave a comment

So, was it pirates or Israeli spies that intercepted a ship carrying Russian missiles? Several observers are beginning to think that Israeli intelligence intercepted or was otherwise involved in the interception of the Arctic Sea, a Russian ship that reportedly carried Russian missiles destined for either Iran or Hezbollah.
Trial of accused Palestinian spy begins in Israel. Rawi Sultani is accused of having informed Hezbollah of his membership in the same fitness club as the head of Israel’s military forces, Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi, in the town of Kfar Saba, as well methods of access into the club. Sultani says that the whole case is nonsense and that he doesn’t even know what Ashkenazi looks like.
Czech spies see Russians behind antiwar group’s actions. The Czech Security Information Service (BIS) is monitoring a billboard agency, which has given free advertising space to an antiwar group opposing the country’s participation in US missile defense shield plans. The US announced on Thursday that it plans to abandon the plans. Newspaper Aktuálně reported that BIS suspects Russian involvement. People in the Czech Republic are incapable of opposing US missile shield plans without Russian prompting, it appears.