26 feb 2015
Lieberman during a diplomatic visit to Ethiopia in 2009
Another batch of leaks by al-Jazeera and the Guardian cites report that Israel tried to cause drought in Egypt, following previous claims about Mossad machinations.
A paper on Mossad reportedly drafted by the South African State Security Agency (SSA) claims that Israel for decades worked to artificially create a drought in Egypt, by draining the River Nile with a water-absorbing plant.
The report comes as Al-Jazeera and the Guardian continued Wednesday to release purported spy cables, which again raised startling claims about Israeli intelligence.
“Towards this end Israel’s Ministry of Science and Technology conducted extensive experiments, and eventually created a type of plant that flourishes on the surface or the banks of the Nile and that absorbs such large quantities of water as to significantly reduce the volume of water that reaches Egypt,” the Guardian quoted. The newspaper noted that the allegation could be false and South Africa "guilty of naivety", but if true, "then Mossad is guilty of reprehensible tactics".
Wednesday's disclosures also included a Russian document alleging that al-Qaeda had set up a facility to produce biological weapons in Algeria, but later abandoned it.
The Guardian's report is the latest in a series of leaks that have been published this week, many of which involved Mossad. It was revealed that the SSA had extensively monitored an Israeli spy, that it had received a Mossad assessment in Iran that contradicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public statements, and that it believed Israel's flagship El Al airline was used as a front for clandestine activities. The SSA also circulated a report in 2009 accusing Israel of using espionage to pursue its interests in Africa, said the Guardian, such as “working assiduously to encircle and isolate Sudan from the outside, and to fuel insurrection inside Sudan”.
The SSA further asserted that Israel had a longstanding desire to exploit Africa's resources and “plans to appropriate African diamonds and process them in Israel". An additional claim in the report was that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was “facilitating contracts for Israelis to train various militias” during a 2009 diplomatic visit to Africa.
The Guardian also cited a Mossad paper sent to the SSA that warned of an attempt to deliver yellowcake, needed to refine uranium, to Iran from South Africa.
Yet another report said American intelligence "seems to be desperate to make inroads into Hamas in Gaza" and may have hoped for South African assistance. The cables also stated that former Mossad chief Meir Dagan said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was concerned about international acceptance of a UN inquiry into alleged Israeli war crimes, which could “play into the hands of Hamas and weaken his position”.
Pretoria has become a major hub for global espionage, the Guardian declared, serving as a gateway into an Africa that is increasingly at the center of international power struggles.
Another batch of leaks by al-Jazeera and the Guardian cites report that Israel tried to cause drought in Egypt, following previous claims about Mossad machinations.
A paper on Mossad reportedly drafted by the South African State Security Agency (SSA) claims that Israel for decades worked to artificially create a drought in Egypt, by draining the River Nile with a water-absorbing plant.
The report comes as Al-Jazeera and the Guardian continued Wednesday to release purported spy cables, which again raised startling claims about Israeli intelligence.
“Towards this end Israel’s Ministry of Science and Technology conducted extensive experiments, and eventually created a type of plant that flourishes on the surface or the banks of the Nile and that absorbs such large quantities of water as to significantly reduce the volume of water that reaches Egypt,” the Guardian quoted. The newspaper noted that the allegation could be false and South Africa "guilty of naivety", but if true, "then Mossad is guilty of reprehensible tactics".
Wednesday's disclosures also included a Russian document alleging that al-Qaeda had set up a facility to produce biological weapons in Algeria, but later abandoned it.
The Guardian's report is the latest in a series of leaks that have been published this week, many of which involved Mossad. It was revealed that the SSA had extensively monitored an Israeli spy, that it had received a Mossad assessment in Iran that contradicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public statements, and that it believed Israel's flagship El Al airline was used as a front for clandestine activities. The SSA also circulated a report in 2009 accusing Israel of using espionage to pursue its interests in Africa, said the Guardian, such as “working assiduously to encircle and isolate Sudan from the outside, and to fuel insurrection inside Sudan”.
The SSA further asserted that Israel had a longstanding desire to exploit Africa's resources and “plans to appropriate African diamonds and process them in Israel". An additional claim in the report was that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was “facilitating contracts for Israelis to train various militias” during a 2009 diplomatic visit to Africa.
The Guardian also cited a Mossad paper sent to the SSA that warned of an attempt to deliver yellowcake, needed to refine uranium, to Iran from South Africa.
Yet another report said American intelligence "seems to be desperate to make inroads into Hamas in Gaza" and may have hoped for South African assistance. The cables also stated that former Mossad chief Meir Dagan said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was concerned about international acceptance of a UN inquiry into alleged Israeli war crimes, which could “play into the hands of Hamas and weaken his position”.
Pretoria has become a major hub for global espionage, the Guardian declared, serving as a gateway into an Africa that is increasingly at the center of international power struggles.
24 feb 2015
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Leaked papers expose 'doomed' relationship between South African and Israeli intelligence.
South African and Israeli spies deeply dislike and distrust one another, according to leaked intelligence files in which South African agents describe a Mossad operative as "extremely arrogant" and "prone to be manipulated". Secret cables obtained by Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit reveal that South Africa's State Security Agency (SSA) considers its Israeli counterpart, Mossad, to be a "difficult and insistent service". The South Africans even accuse Mossad of staging a bombing "to attract more attention to safety at the Israeli Embassy and other Israeli Companies". |
Tensions between the two countries at a governmental level are hardly surprising, given the longstanding support by the South Africa's ruling party for the Palestinian cause, and the history of collaboration between the Israeli state and South Africa's erstwhile white-minority regime. The papers provide further evidence that the apartheid regime had collaborated in Israel's development of nuclear weapons.
But the leaked documents show sharp differences emerging in the espionage relationship in the post-apartheid years, describing numerous tense encounters between the spies of the two nations' secret services.
'No respect'
In one meeting, an Israeli agent reportedly stormed out after being told he would not receive the information he wants on a suspected al-Qaeda operative.
In another, a Mossad agent phoned the acting head of South Africa's State Security Agency (SSA) and demanded a meeting, with no prior arrangements. The SSA did not know the caller was in South Africa, or that he was the head of Mossad's Africa service.
Later a liaison officer met with this Mossad agent and wrote that the Israeli was "extremely arrogant", showed "no respect for the SSA's way of doing things", and that "a liaison relationship on this basis is doomed before it even started".
The Spy Cables show that intelligence relations between the South African and Israeli agencies appear to have deteriorated considerably from the close cooperation they enjoyed during the apartheid era. One South African document complains of the "personal likes and dislikes, selective memory and personal antagonism" of some agents towards Israel's secret service, which "interfere with the professional approach required in the intricate game of liaison."
'Disrespect and bad faith'
The Spy Cables tell how the head of Mossad's Africa service had previously "managed to see the Director General" of South Africa's intelligence agency "under false pretenses" by claiming that he was the head of Mossad and was passing through South Africa, "which proved not to be true."
However, later on 5 September 2012, the Mossad Africa chief called the acting Director General of the SSA and again demanded a meeting.
The liaison officer was dispatched to meet him at the Burgerspark Hotel in Pretoria, under orders to deliver the message that he was, "under no circumstances" to contact the Director General of the SSA directly ever again.
The Mossad agent was informed that he and his colleague must formally present their credentials to the SSA, and that any future meeting "will be scheduled where the details and boundaries of the liaison relationship will be clearly defined".
A later memo records a meeting in which SSA personnel explained the relevant protocols to the Mossad representative, and explained what was expected of the Israeli agents while they are in South Africa.
The memo was written "in order to bring some order" to what is "an unraveling situation", and it concludes by looking forward to "sharing thoughts and idea on how best to deal with a difficult and insistent service" such as Mossad.
'Extremely arrogant'
The liaison officer then prepared a memo detailing the September 5 meeting. Although riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, it highlights that the SSA "felt that it was inappropriate behaviour by the Mossad and that no respect was shown and protocol was not followed".
The South African officer wrote that the Mossad agent "boasted he is in daily contact with President and Heads of Services in Africa". She noted that the Israeli was prone to boasting, and that "it was very easy to get him to talk about himself".
"When it seemed he had nothing more to boast about, she indicated to him that he should now allow her some time to respond," the liaison officer wrote, referring to herself in the third person.
The Mossad spy also handed over a letter from his service's Director General, Tamir Pardo, who seemed unaware of the strained relations on the ground. His letter congratulates the SSA on the "outstanding cooperation we enjoyed from you."
The liaison agent noted that Israel had issued a press release stating that a 2012 bomb attack on a busload of tourists in Bulgaria that killed five Israelis had originally been planned for South Africa.
"None of the details were shared with the SSA to be prepared in future," she noted. "This reflected more disrespect and bad faith."
The South African agent concluded her memo by writing that the head of Mossad's Africa service "comes across as extremely arrogant and self assured", and that her report is "a verbal reflection of what was said in the meeting and does not reflect the disposition of the liaison officer."
She writes that the Israeli operative's "remarks that he deals with President's and DG's all over Africa confirm his need to be very important," deducing that these characteristics leave him "prone to be manipulated and exploited".
She also questions his discretion, saying "he hammered on [about] being security conscious but broke the rule himself on numerous occasions in the meeting by boasting about information".
The Mossad agent also delivered the gift of a crystal sculpture depicting Joshua and Caleb, "the first two spies" who according to the Bible's Book of Numbers were dispatched by Moses to scout out the Land of Canaan.
Staged bombing?
A different cable reveals a South African agent suggesting that Israel may have staged false flag operations in order to make the case for greater protection of its embassy and Israeli companies by South African authorities.
A briefing on relations between South African and Israeli intelligence discussed a petrol-bomb attack at an Israeli company in South Africa in June 2001, saying another "pipe bomb" had also been found and disabled.
It also highlights a number of bomb threats made to the Israeli embassy, which culminated in a man walking in to the embassy to make the same threat in person.
The South African agent authoring the report questions whether the event was all that is seemed, asking "did he actually walk-in at the Israeli Embassy or was this staged to ensure more protection," and, "was the bombing incident also staged to attract more attention to safety at the Israeli Embassy and other Israeli Companies?"
There is no indication in the documents of whether the South Africans were able to answer their own questions.
'Stormed out'
Another secret assessment of Israel's intelligence outlines an angry meeting in 2007, which ended abruptly when a Mossad agent "stormed out."
The Israeli secret service had tipped off South African intelligence to the activities of someone they believed was an al-Qaeda operative, "with the hope that the information would benefit South Africa."
"They expected that [South African intelligence] would share information with them on what are finding of their monitoring and investigation."
However the South African spy "bluntly told" his Israeli counterpart "that he was prevented by management to share information".
The Israeli agent, the report says, "could not understand" why South Africa would not reveal the details of their investigation, grew angry and "stormed out of the meeting."
The same secret assessment shows that at the time, then-Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils had ordered an audit of "information liaised" between his agencies and the Israeli secret service.
"The political stance from Minister Kasrils contributed to the perception that [South African intelligence] was not willing to cooperate with Mossad because the adversaries of Israel are allies of South Africa," wrote the author of the secret assessment.
"Of course Mr Kasrils has openly demonstrated political differences with Israel and supported the cause of the Palestinian."
Al Jazeera asked Kasrils, who is Jewish and a high-profile supporter of the Palestinian struggle, about the audit. The former minister responded that he "didn't want anything to do with the Mossad" when he was in government, but that he was not willing to go into operational details.
More spy cables
But the leaked documents show sharp differences emerging in the espionage relationship in the post-apartheid years, describing numerous tense encounters between the spies of the two nations' secret services.
'No respect'
In one meeting, an Israeli agent reportedly stormed out after being told he would not receive the information he wants on a suspected al-Qaeda operative.
In another, a Mossad agent phoned the acting head of South Africa's State Security Agency (SSA) and demanded a meeting, with no prior arrangements. The SSA did not know the caller was in South Africa, or that he was the head of Mossad's Africa service.
Later a liaison officer met with this Mossad agent and wrote that the Israeli was "extremely arrogant", showed "no respect for the SSA's way of doing things", and that "a liaison relationship on this basis is doomed before it even started".
The Spy Cables show that intelligence relations between the South African and Israeli agencies appear to have deteriorated considerably from the close cooperation they enjoyed during the apartheid era. One South African document complains of the "personal likes and dislikes, selective memory and personal antagonism" of some agents towards Israel's secret service, which "interfere with the professional approach required in the intricate game of liaison."
'Disrespect and bad faith'
The Spy Cables tell how the head of Mossad's Africa service had previously "managed to see the Director General" of South Africa's intelligence agency "under false pretenses" by claiming that he was the head of Mossad and was passing through South Africa, "which proved not to be true."
However, later on 5 September 2012, the Mossad Africa chief called the acting Director General of the SSA and again demanded a meeting.
The liaison officer was dispatched to meet him at the Burgerspark Hotel in Pretoria, under orders to deliver the message that he was, "under no circumstances" to contact the Director General of the SSA directly ever again.
The Mossad agent was informed that he and his colleague must formally present their credentials to the SSA, and that any future meeting "will be scheduled where the details and boundaries of the liaison relationship will be clearly defined".
A later memo records a meeting in which SSA personnel explained the relevant protocols to the Mossad representative, and explained what was expected of the Israeli agents while they are in South Africa.
The memo was written "in order to bring some order" to what is "an unraveling situation", and it concludes by looking forward to "sharing thoughts and idea on how best to deal with a difficult and insistent service" such as Mossad.
'Extremely arrogant'
The liaison officer then prepared a memo detailing the September 5 meeting. Although riddled with spelling and grammatical errors, it highlights that the SSA "felt that it was inappropriate behaviour by the Mossad and that no respect was shown and protocol was not followed".
The South African officer wrote that the Mossad agent "boasted he is in daily contact with President and Heads of Services in Africa". She noted that the Israeli was prone to boasting, and that "it was very easy to get him to talk about himself".
"When it seemed he had nothing more to boast about, she indicated to him that he should now allow her some time to respond," the liaison officer wrote, referring to herself in the third person.
The Mossad spy also handed over a letter from his service's Director General, Tamir Pardo, who seemed unaware of the strained relations on the ground. His letter congratulates the SSA on the "outstanding cooperation we enjoyed from you."
The liaison agent noted that Israel had issued a press release stating that a 2012 bomb attack on a busload of tourists in Bulgaria that killed five Israelis had originally been planned for South Africa.
"None of the details were shared with the SSA to be prepared in future," she noted. "This reflected more disrespect and bad faith."
The South African agent concluded her memo by writing that the head of Mossad's Africa service "comes across as extremely arrogant and self assured", and that her report is "a verbal reflection of what was said in the meeting and does not reflect the disposition of the liaison officer."
She writes that the Israeli operative's "remarks that he deals with President's and DG's all over Africa confirm his need to be very important," deducing that these characteristics leave him "prone to be manipulated and exploited".
She also questions his discretion, saying "he hammered on [about] being security conscious but broke the rule himself on numerous occasions in the meeting by boasting about information".
The Mossad agent also delivered the gift of a crystal sculpture depicting Joshua and Caleb, "the first two spies" who according to the Bible's Book of Numbers were dispatched by Moses to scout out the Land of Canaan.
Staged bombing?
A different cable reveals a South African agent suggesting that Israel may have staged false flag operations in order to make the case for greater protection of its embassy and Israeli companies by South African authorities.
A briefing on relations between South African and Israeli intelligence discussed a petrol-bomb attack at an Israeli company in South Africa in June 2001, saying another "pipe bomb" had also been found and disabled.
It also highlights a number of bomb threats made to the Israeli embassy, which culminated in a man walking in to the embassy to make the same threat in person.
The South African agent authoring the report questions whether the event was all that is seemed, asking "did he actually walk-in at the Israeli Embassy or was this staged to ensure more protection," and, "was the bombing incident also staged to attract more attention to safety at the Israeli Embassy and other Israeli Companies?"
There is no indication in the documents of whether the South Africans were able to answer their own questions.
'Stormed out'
Another secret assessment of Israel's intelligence outlines an angry meeting in 2007, which ended abruptly when a Mossad agent "stormed out."
The Israeli secret service had tipped off South African intelligence to the activities of someone they believed was an al-Qaeda operative, "with the hope that the information would benefit South Africa."
"They expected that [South African intelligence] would share information with them on what are finding of their monitoring and investigation."
However the South African spy "bluntly told" his Israeli counterpart "that he was prevented by management to share information".
The Israeli agent, the report says, "could not understand" why South Africa would not reveal the details of their investigation, grew angry and "stormed out of the meeting."
The same secret assessment shows that at the time, then-Minister of Intelligence Ronnie Kasrils had ordered an audit of "information liaised" between his agencies and the Israeli secret service.
"The political stance from Minister Kasrils contributed to the perception that [South African intelligence] was not willing to cooperate with Mossad because the adversaries of Israel are allies of South Africa," wrote the author of the secret assessment.
"Of course Mr Kasrils has openly demonstrated political differences with Israel and supported the cause of the Palestinian."
Al Jazeera asked Kasrils, who is Jewish and a high-profile supporter of the Palestinian struggle, about the audit. The former minister responded that he "didn't want anything to do with the Mossad" when he was in government, but that he was not willing to go into operational details.
More spy cables
12 feb 2015
In interview with Ynet, Muhammad Musallam's brother says his brother told the family he was going to a firefighting course, but failed to return or make contact; when he finally made contact, he was in Syria.
Family members of Muhammad Said Ismail Musallam were surprised on Thursday to learn he was captured by the Islamic State in Syria and has been accused of being an agent of the Israeli Mossad spy agency.
Musallam's father, Said, denied his son was a spy, saying he went missing after traveling as a tourist to Turkey. Muhammad then phoned home, saying he had been abducted to neighboring Syria but could buy his way out, his father said.
"He said, 'Dad, I need $200 or $300 so they will let me go,'" Said Musallam told Reuters. Before he could send the money, he said, another man phoned to inform him Muhammad had escaped his captors but had been seized by the Islamic State group.
In an interview published by Islamic State's online English-language magazine Dabiq, Musallam said he had joined the insurgent group in Syria in order to report to the Israelis on its weapons caches, bases and Palestinian recruits.
After his conduct aroused the suspicion of Islamic State commanders, Musallam was quoted as saying he broke cover by phoning his father in East Jerusalem - leading to his capture.
"When I saw his picture today I was shocked," Ahmad, Muhammad's brother, told Ynet. "I saw how he looks with a beard and hair, if you had seen him before you'd understand he looks completely different."
Family members of Muhammad Said Ismail Musallam were surprised on Thursday to learn he was captured by the Islamic State in Syria and has been accused of being an agent of the Israeli Mossad spy agency.
Musallam's father, Said, denied his son was a spy, saying he went missing after traveling as a tourist to Turkey. Muhammad then phoned home, saying he had been abducted to neighboring Syria but could buy his way out, his father said.
"He said, 'Dad, I need $200 or $300 so they will let me go,'" Said Musallam told Reuters. Before he could send the money, he said, another man phoned to inform him Muhammad had escaped his captors but had been seized by the Islamic State group.
In an interview published by Islamic State's online English-language magazine Dabiq, Musallam said he had joined the insurgent group in Syria in order to report to the Israelis on its weapons caches, bases and Palestinian recruits.
After his conduct aroused the suspicion of Islamic State commanders, Musallam was quoted as saying he broke cover by phoning his father in East Jerusalem - leading to his capture.
"When I saw his picture today I was shocked," Ahmad, Muhammad's brother, told Ynet. "I saw how he looks with a beard and hair, if you had seen him before you'd understand he looks completely different."
Photograph of Musallam in Islamic State magazine.
In the latest issue of the Islamic State's magazine 'Dabiq,' alleged young Jerusalem resident Muhammad Said Ismail Musallam claims to have traveled to Syria to spy for Israeli intelligence.
The Islamic State group claimed on Thursday it was holding a Mossad spy captive, and published an interview with the alleged Israeli spy in the latest issue of the terror organization's magazine "Dabiq."
In the interview, the alleged spy Muhammad Said Ismail Musallam says he is 19-years-old, from Jerusalem, and was enlisted into the the Mossad by a Jewish neighbor who worked as a police officer.
"He came one day and asked me to work with Israeli intelligence," says Musallam in the interview. "I told him I would think about it, and then went and asked my father and brother what they thought. They both encouraged me to do it and told me that it was a very good job. They told me there was a lot of money in it, and that you could advance to higher positions. I knew at that point that they themselves were working as spies," says Musallam in the interview – its reliability unclear. According to the young man, he later met with an intelligence officer by the name of Eli who told Musallam of the benefits and good conditions that came along with being a spy for the Mossad.
Musallam claimed that he was trained at 'Anatawt Training Camp in East Jerusalem and received NIS 5,000 for his participation in the course. He was later paid per mission and said, "In general, the pay would be proportional to the assignment and its level of importance, and the minimum would be 5,000 shekels. The bigger the assignment and the more valuable the information, the more they would pay me and the more bonuses I would receive." Musallam says he received a month-long training on self-control and how to survive an interrogation. He also said he was trained to extract information and underwent weapons training.
After completing his training, Musallam was reportedly tasked with turning in weapons dealers, wanted individuals, and seeking out individuals who were attempting to infiltrate into Israel. He was also allegedly tasked with reporting to the Mossad about any operations planned to be carried out in Jerusalem. After Musallam had worked as a spy for a while, another officer by the name of Miro offered him to go off on a mission to spy on the Islamic State group in Syria. "They offered me a monthly salary. They would also give me a house, and would take care of any issues I had and any documents I needed, as well as my living needs when I returned," said Musallam of the offer he was given by the alleged Israeli intelligence officer.
According to Musallam, the Mossad wanted him to report on the Islamic State group's weapons and rockets cache and their locations. He was also allegedly asked to pass on the locations of Islamic State bases in Syria and the names of Palestinians who left Palestinian territory and went to fight alongside the Islamic State group. Musallam says in the interview that he entered Syria by way of Turkey with the help of a smuggler whom he contacted by phone. According to the alleged spy, he was caught because he "began acting in a manner that was not typical of a muhajir despite the training (he) had received from the Mossad." The alleged spy also says he failed to fulfill orders given to him by his "Amir" and then became worried that he would be monitored or punished. Out of fear, the young man called his father, who told his son to come home. "But it was too late, as I was being watched. The mujahidin put me in prison, and moved me from one prison to another. During the interrogations, I confessed I was a spy working as an agent for the Israeli Mossad, and confessed to the things I had done in my country," says Musallam in the Islamic State group interview.
Israel has not acknowledged the report of the alleged Mossad spy and no statements have been released to confirm or deny the spy's identity as a former Jerusalem resident.
In the latest issue of the Islamic State's magazine 'Dabiq,' alleged young Jerusalem resident Muhammad Said Ismail Musallam claims to have traveled to Syria to spy for Israeli intelligence.
The Islamic State group claimed on Thursday it was holding a Mossad spy captive, and published an interview with the alleged Israeli spy in the latest issue of the terror organization's magazine "Dabiq."
In the interview, the alleged spy Muhammad Said Ismail Musallam says he is 19-years-old, from Jerusalem, and was enlisted into the the Mossad by a Jewish neighbor who worked as a police officer.
"He came one day and asked me to work with Israeli intelligence," says Musallam in the interview. "I told him I would think about it, and then went and asked my father and brother what they thought. They both encouraged me to do it and told me that it was a very good job. They told me there was a lot of money in it, and that you could advance to higher positions. I knew at that point that they themselves were working as spies," says Musallam in the interview – its reliability unclear. According to the young man, he later met with an intelligence officer by the name of Eli who told Musallam of the benefits and good conditions that came along with being a spy for the Mossad.
Musallam claimed that he was trained at 'Anatawt Training Camp in East Jerusalem and received NIS 5,000 for his participation in the course. He was later paid per mission and said, "In general, the pay would be proportional to the assignment and its level of importance, and the minimum would be 5,000 shekels. The bigger the assignment and the more valuable the information, the more they would pay me and the more bonuses I would receive." Musallam says he received a month-long training on self-control and how to survive an interrogation. He also said he was trained to extract information and underwent weapons training.
After completing his training, Musallam was reportedly tasked with turning in weapons dealers, wanted individuals, and seeking out individuals who were attempting to infiltrate into Israel. He was also allegedly tasked with reporting to the Mossad about any operations planned to be carried out in Jerusalem. After Musallam had worked as a spy for a while, another officer by the name of Miro offered him to go off on a mission to spy on the Islamic State group in Syria. "They offered me a monthly salary. They would also give me a house, and would take care of any issues I had and any documents I needed, as well as my living needs when I returned," said Musallam of the offer he was given by the alleged Israeli intelligence officer.
According to Musallam, the Mossad wanted him to report on the Islamic State group's weapons and rockets cache and their locations. He was also allegedly asked to pass on the locations of Islamic State bases in Syria and the names of Palestinians who left Palestinian territory and went to fight alongside the Islamic State group. Musallam says in the interview that he entered Syria by way of Turkey with the help of a smuggler whom he contacted by phone. According to the alleged spy, he was caught because he "began acting in a manner that was not typical of a muhajir despite the training (he) had received from the Mossad." The alleged spy also says he failed to fulfill orders given to him by his "Amir" and then became worried that he would be monitored or punished. Out of fear, the young man called his father, who told his son to come home. "But it was too late, as I was being watched. The mujahidin put me in prison, and moved me from one prison to another. During the interrogations, I confessed I was a spy working as an agent for the Israeli Mossad, and confessed to the things I had done in my country," says Musallam in the Islamic State group interview.
Israel has not acknowledged the report of the alleged Mossad spy and no statements have been released to confirm or deny the spy's identity as a former Jerusalem resident.