Presidential Guard member convicted of espionage in West Bank

January 26, 2009 by Leave a comment

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
The Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank has announced a death sentence against a former member of the Presidential Guard who is said to have spied for Israel. Palestinian Authority prosecutors accused the unnamed 28-year-old man, resident of Hebron, of supplying sensitive information to Israeli intelligence agents since being recruited as an informant in 1997. The prosecution said that the information supplied to Israeli agents by the former Presidential Guard member resulted in –among other things– the capture by Israel’s Security Agency (Shin Bet) of Rateb Abayet and Adnan Abayat, both commanders of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the secular armed wing of Fatah. Read more of this post

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Analysis: Why Did Bush Not Pardon Israeli Spy?

January 26, 2009 by Leave a comment

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
In his latest article for The Santa Barbara News Press, Robert Eringer, the former FBI counterintelligence agent who now works for Prince Albert II of Monaco, reminds intelligence observers of the case of convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Jay Pollard. Pollard, who has so far served 24 years of a life sentence, was found guilty in 1987 of spying on the US on behalf of Israel, while working as a US Navy intelligence analyst. Since his arrest and conviction, Pollard has been considered something of a national hero in Israel, and an enormous effort has been launched to secure his release. Israeli newspapers, whose articles routinely liken Pollard to Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, who was captured by Hamas in 2006,  disclosed earlier this month that a “massive campaign was conducted behind the scenes in Washington to persuade US president George W. Bush to commute Pollard’s sentence”. The effort, which included “tens of thousands of phone calls” that “flooded the White House”, was so enormous that several Israeli insiders considered Pollard’s release almost certain. Pollard remained imprisoned after all, and the question is, why did George W. Bush not succumb to these lobbying pressures? Read article →

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Finnish UN official details recruitment attempts by Israeli spies

January 20, 2009 by Leave a comment

Raitasaari

Raitasaari

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat has published a relatively detailed account of attempts by Israeli intelligence agents to recruit United Nations (UN) personnel stationed in the Middle East and the Balkans. The source of the details is Reijo Raitasaari, a 30-year veteran of the UN and other international organizations, who was stationed for several years in the Middle East. Raitasaari admitted that he was targeted at least three times by Israeli intelligence recruiters during his career and that the Israelis often used “[s]ex and money […] as bait in such attempts”. He said that sending attractive Israeli women to parties of UN personnel was standard practice by Israeli intelligence agencies attempting to recruit UN workers. When offers for sex were accepted by married male UN workers, the Israeli spies would resort blackmail as a method to secure their cooperation. Raitasaari also detailed his relationship with Raimo Majuri, the Finnish military officer who spied on behalf of Israel and later immigrated to Israel, where he changed his name to Ram Laor. It appears that Suojelupoliisi, Finland’s security police (otherwise known as SUPO), took the Helsingin Sanomat revelations seriously. Earlier today, the agency announced plans to launch a training workshop designed for Finnish international agency personnel stationed around the world, “to help them deal with possible attempts of recruitment by foreign intelligence services”.

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South Africa pressed to cut diplomatic, intelligence ties with Israel

January 19, 2009 by Leave a comment

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
After Venezuela and Bolivia, which last week cut off diplomatic relations with Israel in protest of the Jewish state’s invasion of Gaza, the government of South Africa has come under pressure to do likewise. The powerful Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) urged the governing African National Congress (ANC) to “cease all relations with Israel and close down the Israeli embassy in Pretoria”. The organization also called on the governing party to expel “Israeli security agencies and Mossad” operatives from the country. Although it is unclear whether COSATU’s call will influence South Africa’s official relations with Israel, it will be difficult for the ANC to ignore it completely, especially with Jacob Zuma now at its helm. Read more of this post

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Shin Bet arrests Israeli allegedly spying for Iran

January 16, 2009 by 1 Comment

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
A spokesperson for Shin Bet, Israel’s General Security Service, announced yesterday the capture of an Israeli-Argentinean citizen, living in Buenos Aires, for offering to spy against Israel on behalf of Iran. The man, Mauricio Segel, was arrested by Shin Bet and Israeli police officers on December 22, while attempting to enter Israel. He is accused of having contacted the Iranian embassy in the Argentinean capital and offered to sell Israeli government documents to Iranian diplomatic officials. Israeli intelligence sources claim Segel first contacted the Iranian embassy in Buenos Aires in 2006 and gained the Iranians’ trust by giving them access to copies of his Israeli national passport and identification card. Read more of this post

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Hamas map discovery shows advanced preparations for ground war

January 11, 2009 by 2 Comments

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
The increasingly sophisticated deception and propaganda operations by all sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been extensively detailed in the relevant specialized literature. But if the recent revelation by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of a Hamas urban warfare map is indeed genuine, it signifies well-timed anticipation by the Palestinian faction of Israel’s current offensive in the Gaza Strip. The map, which was allegedly discovered by IDF paratroopers in Beit Lahia, north of Gaza, is said to portray a detailed diagram of the al-Atatra neighborhood, with locations of booby traps. The latter include the use of dolls to lure IDF soldiers, with the intention of killing or –more beneficially from Hamas’ strategic viewpoint– kidnapping them. Read more of this post

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Comment: Carter confirms IDF broke June 2008 truce

January 10, 2009 by 2 Comments

By JOSEPH FITSANAKIS | intelNews.org |
On December 29, I explained the fact –well-known within Israel– that it was the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), not Hamas, which broke the June 2008 truce brokered by Egypt. Specifically, I mentioned the November 4, 2008, illegal incursion into Gaza by a sizeable IDF team, reportedly to take out a “strip tunnel intended for terror attack”, which unilaterally broke the truce. Israel has offered no proof for its justification of the incursion, either domestically or internationally. The Israeli press has long recognized that it was after this unilateral breaking of the ceasefire by the IDF that “[t]he fragile five-month truce began to unravel”. On November 13, Ha’aretz noted that it was in response to this action that Hamas forces resumed their rocket fire against Israeli settlements. It has now come to my attention that a January 8, 2009, article in The Washington Post by former US President Jimmy Carter has also pointed out this fact. Read more of this post

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Analysis: Why is Yemen Accusing Israel of Ties to Islamist Groups?

January 10, 2009 by Leave a comment

There is admittedly nothing new about the discovery of yet another Islamic militant cell in Yemen. Significant al-Qaeda presence has long been detected in that country. Eyebrows are bound to be raised, however, at news of a recent formal accusation by the Yemeni government that Israel offered to assist Islamist militants who had “prepared […] car bombs to attack governmental buildings and embassies”. Bizarrely, three Islamist militants arrested last week have been accused by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh of working for “a terrorist cell with links to Israeli intelligence, [which] ha[s] been dismantled”. On January 10, a Yemeni court heard that one of the accused militants communicated with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert via email, offering to collaborate with Israeli authorities in 2008. These allegations may seem ludicrous, to say the least. However, if true, they will not signify the first time that Israeli intelligence agencies have actively supported militant Islamist groups in the Middle East. Surprised? Joseph Fitsanakis explains.

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Hamas-IDF cell phone war continues

January 9, 2009 by Leave a comment

By IAN ALLEN | intelNews.org |
Since the beginning of the ongoing war in Gaza, IntelNews has frequently reported on the peculiar cell phone war that has been taking place between Palestinian group Hamas and the IDF, the Israel Defense Forces. Specifically, the IDF and Israeli intelligence appear to be randomly calling cell phones belonging to Gaza residents with messages prompting them to evacuate Hamas-affiliated targets. The tactic appears to have resulted in a backlash for the IDF, as Gazans receiving these calls often rush to roofs of potential target buildings in efforts to prevent the attacks. Moreover, Hamas seems to be employing a similar tactic to warn Israeli cell phone subscribers that Qassam rockets will fall “on all cities” and that “shelters [will] not protect” them. It now looks like Hamas is employing the cell phone trick to cause confusion in the ranks of IDF reservists. Israeli newspaper Ha’aretzi is reporting that Israeli reservists waiting to be called into action are receiving “numerous fictitious […] ’emergency call for duty’ messages” on their mobile phones. Read more of this post

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Hamas copies Israel’s random phone call tactic

January 3, 2009 by Leave a comment

Hamas message

Hamas message

IntelNews has been reporting in recent days that Israeli intelligence are placing random calls to cell phones of Gaza residents prompting them to evacuate Hamas-affiliated targets. We also reported that this technique, which Israel also employed in Lebanon and Syria during the last couple of years, seems to have resulted in a backlash for the Israeli Defense Forces, as Gaza residents receiving these random calls often rush to the roofs of potential target buildings in efforts to prevent the attacks. It now appears that Hamas, the Palestinian group in charge of the Gaza strip, is employing a similar tactic to warn Israeli cell phone subscribers that Qassam rockets will fall “on all cities” and that “shelters [will] not protect” them. Read more of this post

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Gaza civilians ignoring IDF cell phone warnings

January 2, 2009 by Leave a comment

Nizar Rayan

Nizar Rayan

IntelNews has reported in recent days that Israeli intelligence are employing cell phones to warn Gazan civilians that they may killed if located nearby Hamas-affiliated targets. Specifically, an undisclosed number of Gaza residents have been receiving “unusual phone calls” with an automated request in Arabic “that they and their families leave their homes as soon as possible for their own safety”. It now appears this technique has resulted in a backlash for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), as Gaza residents receiving such calls often rush to the roofs of potential target buildings in efforts to prevent the attacks. An article in The Australian reports that “in some cases, [Gaza] residents have gone up to the roof to show themselves to circling aircraft and succeeded in preventing the attack”. Read more of this post

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Former US Army engineer admits spying for Israel

December 31, 2008 by Leave a comment

Kadish

Kadish

It was an almost jovial gathering at a US Federal Court in Manhattan, yesterday, when a retired US Army engineer pleaded guilty to charges of passing classified US military documents to Israel. Ben-Ami Kadish, 85, of  Monroe Township, NJ, admitted handing secret technical information on F-15 fighter jets, the Patriot missile, and even on nuclear weapons, to Israel between 1979 and 1985. Last April, after being charged with four counts of conspiracy and espionage, Kadish confessed having worked without compensation for Israeli intelligence and detailed providing the classified documents to Yosef Yagur and Ilan Ravid, who were “science advisers” (probably intelligence agents) at the Israeli Consulate in New York and the Israeli Embassy in Washington, respectively. Mr. Kadish was reportedly extremely pleasant during the hearing and, after declaring that he spied “for the benefit of Israel”, made sure to wish everyone present “a happy New Year”. His lawyer was quick to thank the US government for agreeing “not to oppose or object to a non-jail sentence” and expressed a collective wish that “Mr. Kadish can go on and spend the golden years of his life with his lovely wife, Doris”. Asked about the espionage case, a spokesperson at Israel’s Consulate General dismissively pointed out that “[t]his is an old case which occurred over 25 years ago, and all aspects of it are part of the past”. [IA]

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Israel using cell phones to caution Gazans

December 29, 2008 by Leave a comment

Palestine cell phone

IDF calling

On December 4 we reported that the Israeli intelligence services appeared to be calling thousands of seemingly random telephone subscribers in Syria with automated messages in Arabic, inquiring about missing Israeli soldiers and offering a multimillion dollar reward. It now appears that Israeli agents are again employing cell phones, this time to warn Palestinian civilians in the Gaza strip that they may become targets if they live nearby Hamas-affiliated facilities. An article in The Australian reports that an undisclosed number of Gaza residents have been receiving “unusual phone calls” during the past three days, with an automated request in Arabic “that they and their families leave their homes as soon as possible for their own safety”. The male voice is said to identify itself as representing the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Read more of this post

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Analysis: Behind Israel’s Attack on Gaza

December 29, 2008 by Leave a comment

In contrast to the vague international protestations by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about Israel’s “right to self-defense”, the domestic Israeli press has been extremely candid about the reasons behind Israel’s ongoing attack on the Gazan population. On Sunday, the country’s most respected newspaper, Ha’aretz, published a detailed account of what it described as the Israeli government’s “[l]ong-term preparation, careful gathering of information, secret discussions, operational deception and the misleading of the public” which lie behind the latest onslaught against the imprisoned Palestinian population. Read Article →

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Israel pressuring Russia on sale of S-300 missiles to Iran

December 16, 2008 by Leave a comment

Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reports that Israel’s government is preparing to send Major General Amos Gilad, a senior Defense Ministry official, to Moscow, to pressure the Russians not to sell an advanced antiaircraft system to Iran. Gilad’s visit, which will include meetings with Russian senior defense and intelligence officials, is aimed at preventing the planned sale of Russia’s advanced S-300 surface-to-air missile system to Tehran. Military experts have warned Israel that, by purchasing and installing the S-300 system, Iran will effectively “rule out an Israeli war against Iran” by eliminating the possibility of a surprise Israeli air attack. Read more of this post

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