US attempts to reassure "Israel" over Pentagon leak: Axios
4 Min Read
One of the documents contained information about the involvement of Mossad officials in the protests against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul.
-
Israelis protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system, in "Tel Aviv", Saturday, April 8, 2023 (AP)
A report published by Axios on Tuesday revealed that officials from the Biden administration are scrambling to reassure "Israel" over the leak of highly classified documents from the Pentagon.
According to the report, citing two Israeli officials, the documents suggest that the US has been spying on some of its closest allies, which include "Israel".
The matter is serious because the leaks contain sensitive information from US-Israeli consultations.
As an investigation is currently underway, the US has acknowledged that some of the leaked documents are authentic but said that others appeared to have been doctored.
One of the documents contained information about the involvement of Mossad officials in the protests against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul.
The leaked documents showed an assessment attributed to a Central Intelligence Update from last month, which said the Mossad's leadership "advocated for Mossad officials and Israeli citizens to protest against the new Israeli Government’s proposed judicial reforms, including several explicit calls to action that decried the Israeli Government."
It was previously reported in February that members of Mossad were advocating to protest against the Netanyahu government's judicial amendments.
The document also said the assessment was based on signals intelligence, which means that US intel agencies have been involved in spying operations on their Israeli allies.
The Israeli Prime Minister's Office released a statement on behalf of Mossad, rejecting allegations that Mossad had any involvement in the protest.
"The report that was published overnight in the American press is mendacious and without any foundation whatsoever," the statement said. "The Mossad and its senior officials did not — and do not — encourage agency personnel to join the demonstrations against the government, political demonstrations, or any political activity," the statement said.
Read more: US allies going berserk over Pentagon intel leak: Politico
Another highly classified document revealed an intelligence analysis that examined "Israel's" policy regarding military assistance to Ukraine and ways to pressure the Israeli occupation into delivering more aid to Kiev.
The document was initially reported by The New York Times and contained sensitive information from US-Israeli consultations which revealed Israeli concerns over a Russian-Iranian military alliance.
Israeli sources who requested anonymity told Axios that senior US officials have reached out to their Israeli counterparts to reassure them of the leak and urged the Israeli security ministry to not overreact, noting that the Biden administration is investigating the incident.
In a statement on Sunday, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said that the White House has assembled an interagency team "focused on assessing the impact these photographed documents could have on US national security and on our allies and partners."
She further confirmed that US officials spoke with "allies and partners" and that the department was still examining the "validity" of the leaks, but it is still unclear who from the Biden administration will be involved in the interagency.
The anonymous sources said that Eyal Zamir, the director general of the Israeli security ministry, is scheduled to visit Washington on Thursday to discuss the matter with Pengaton officials.
The Israeli occupation has been engulfed in anti-government demonstrations for months, with settlers taking to the streets of occupied Palestine to demonstrate against the Israeli government and its controversial plans to overhaul the judiciary.
Read more: Investigation into Pentagon leaks to take weeks: CNN
