Category Archives: The Mossad

Ceasefire talks raise Gaza hopes but 1.5m trapped in Rafah fear the worst

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Closed-door negotiations in Paris and UN efforts in New York yield conflicting reports of progress, but city of Rafah remains in Israel’s firing line

A closed-door meeting of spy chiefs, military officials and diplomats has briefly renewed hopes of a potential ceasefire deal amid fierce debates at the United Nations, but observers have warned that time is running out to make progress and prevent a looming Israeli offensive on Gaza’s southernmost city.

The secretive talks at an unknown location in Paris involved David Barnea, the head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service, conducting separate meetings with Egyptian spy chief Abbas Kamel, head of the CIA William Burns and Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani.

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Officials say progress being made on Gaza ceasefire talks

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US national security spokesperson says talks in Cairo ‘constructive and moving in right direction’

Israel and Hamas are making progress towards a deal that would bring about a ceasefire and free hostages held in the Gaza Strip, officials with knowledge of the talks have said.

The US national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, speaking as negotiations were held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, said: “They’ve been constructive and moving in the right direction.”

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Mossad chief says Israel is committed to finding and killing all Hamas leaders

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Comments by David Barnea follow assassination of Hamas deputy political chief Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon

The head of Israel’s foreign intelligence service has vowed to track down and kill all Hamas leaders responsible for attacking Israel, less than a day after a drone strike in Lebanon killed the militant organisation’s second most senior official.

David Barnea said on Wednesday the Mossad was “committed to settling the score with the murderers who descended upon the Gaza envelope” on 7 October and with those who planned the attacks.

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Iran says it has executed Mossad agent accused of spying for Israel

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Unnamed person had handed classified information to a ‘Mossad officer’, official Irna news agency reports

An agent of the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, has been executed in Iran, the official Irna news agency reported.

“This person communicated with foreign services, specifically [the] Mossad, collecting classified information, and with participation with associates, provided documents to foreign services, including the Mossad,” it said.

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Israel imposing apartheid on Palestinians, says former Mossad chief

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Tamir Pardo comments, slammed by ruling Likud party, carry weight because of high regard for intelligence agency in Israel

A former head of the Mossad intelligence agency has said Israel is imposing a form of apartheid on the Palestinians, joining a growing number of prominent Israelis to compare the occupation of the West Bank to South Africa’s defunct system of racial oppression.

But Tamir Pardo’s views will have added impact because of the high regard for Mossad in Israel and because they come at a time when far-right members of Israel’s government are moving to kill off any prospect of an independent Palestinian state.

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Reports of mysterious Mossad operation to find Israeli airman confirmed

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Israel prime minister tells Knesset of ‘bold’ mission concerned with fate of missing navigator Lt Col Ron Arad

The Israeli spy agency, the Mossad, launched a complex intelligence operation last month to find information on the whereabouts and fate of an Israeli airman who was shot down over southern Lebanon in 1986.

The existence of the operation to find Lt Col Ron Arad, a navigator on an Israeli jet whose plane went down during a bombing raid, was confirmed by the Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, who told the country’s parliament on Monday that he could share no more details of the “courageous mission”.

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Ex-Mossad chief signals Israel culpability for Iran attacks

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Yossi Cohen reveals details of Iran nuclear programme attacks in interview timed to support Netanyahu

The outgoing head of Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, the Mossad, has signalled the country’s clear responsibility for a series of attacks targeting Iran’s nuclear programme in an interview that appeared to have as much to do with Israel’s febrile politics as with Iran.

In a public intervention that appeared timed to help Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, before a Knesset vote on Sunday that could end his 12 consecutive years in office, the agency’s former head Yossi Cohenrevealed details of operations long attributed to Israel.

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James Packer’s ties with Israeli PM and spy chief became ‘national risk’ – report

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Australian tycoon was obsessed with Israel’s elite, once kissing feet of an ex-president, local media reports

James Packer’s entanglement with Israel’s elite, including a close personal relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu and the now Mossad chief, was considered a “national risk”, according to an Israeli report, quoting testimony from witnesses in Netanyahu’s corruption trial.

The Australian casino mogul, 53, developed an obsession with the Jewish state over the past few years, once kissing the feet of the former president Shimon Peres when he came for a dinner, according to “a person who was close” to Peres. He also considering converting to Judaism, Haaretz newspaper reported.

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