Cam Simpson and Neil King Jr. have a worthwhile read in the Wall Street Journal (subscription) about the intelligence and arms trove Hamas seized in Gaza. Hamas claims to have found documents exposing a broad Fatah spy-ring working against Arab countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, on behalf of the US. It was just such a Palestinian spy-ring that provided the US its first solid info on Osama Bin Laden in the 1990s, the WSJ reports.
A number of former U.S. intelligence officials, including some who have worked closely with the Palestinians, said there was ample reason to worry that Hamas has acquired access to important spying technology as well as intelligence information that could be helpful to Hamas in countering Israeli and U.S. efforts against the group.
The compromised intelligence Hamas says it now has ranges widely. The group alleges it has videos used in a sexual-blackmail operation run by Washington’s allies inside Fatah’s security apparatus. But the group also says it has uncovered detailed evidence of Fatah-controlled spying operations carried out in Arab and Muslim countries for the benefit of the U.S. and other foreign governments. Hamas also alleges that Fatah intelligence operatives cooperated with Israeli intelligence officials to target Islamist leaders for assassination.
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This kind of technology, along with the knowledge it yields, is broadly known in intelligence circles as “Sigint,” which is shorthand for “signals intelligence.” It can include eavesdropping equipment, devices used for intercepting radio, microwave and telephone communications and telemetry technology that allows the user to pinpoint the location of someone holding a communication device, such as a cellphone.
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The militant group seized an arsenal of arms and munitions captured from U.S.-backed security forces loyal to Fatah and its leader, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Mr. Dichter said Hamas gained roughly the same number of weapons during a few days that it would have taken the group nearly a year to amass from smuggling operations.
Hamas says it is using the armaments to build a popular army in Gaza. Israeli intelligence and security officials estimate the Islamist group has some 13,000 armed men in Gaza.
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Some of the most potentially explosive claims from Hamas center on the alleged activities beyond the Gaza Strip of Palestinian agents loyal to Fatah. Mr. Hayya alleged the CIA utilized Palestinian agents for covert intelligence operations in other Middle Eastern countries. Hamas, he said, now possesses a roadmap detailing the names and actions of “those men whom thought were going to continue to be their hand across the region.”
Some former U.S. intelligence officials who worked closely with the Palestinian Authority confirmed that such overseas spying arrangements beyond Gaza existed with the Palestinians in the past and said they likely continued, bolstering the credibility of Hamas’s claims.
Whitley Bruner, a longtime CIA officer in the Middle East, recalled that “some of our first really good information on [Osama] bin Laden in Sudan” in the early 1990s “came from Palestinian sources.” Before leaving the agency in 1997, Mr. Bruner participated in many of the first cooperative sessions organized by Mr. Tenet between the CIA and the Palestinians.
“It’s not unlikely that continued to do things for the U.S. well beyond the territories,” Mr. Bruner said. “Palestinians are embedded all over the place, so they have access to things that the U.S. doesn’t.”
Others are more circumspect. Bruce Reidel, who worked for nearly 30 years as a U.S. Middle East specialist, both as a CIA intelligence officer and as an adviser to Presidents Clinton and Bush, said there is sure to be “quite a treasure trove of materials that would document relationship with the CIA.” Mr. Reidel said during his time in government, which ended in 2005, “the Palestinians were always trying to prove that they had unique access and information,” but he said he was skeptical of Hamas’s claims that such operations ventured far beyond Gaza and the West Bank.
Mr. Hayya alleges that while many officials from Arab and Muslim nations knew Mr. Dahlan was cooperating with U.S. intelligence agencies inside the Palestinian territories, many of those same leaders “are going to be amazed and surprised when they discover had actually worked against them for the Americans.” He wouldn’t directly answer a question about which nations were allegedly being spied on, but he said Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had the most to be concerned about from potential disclosures.
8 responses so far ↓
1 University Update - West 8 - WSJ on Hamas’ intelligence trove // Jul 30, 2007 at 9:47 am
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2 sean // Aug 1, 2007 at 11:49 am
This is off topic, but I was wondering if you’d seen Blanford’s recent article about being detained:
After they stopped us on our way out of Yahfoufa, the Hizbullah men told us to follow them.
We ended up at a nearby house in Yahfoufa where we were offered cups of Turkish coffee. Soon, more Hizbullah men arrived and we were escorted to an office in the village of Nabi Sheet. Ali and I handed over our cellphones, wallets, and my small backpack of journalistic gear for their perusal. That didn’t help the situation.
In the eyes of our captors, my GPS device and a satellite phone – intended to aid our trip to remote Toufeil – only marked us as spies. Still, I was not unduly worried. I had been detained by Hizbullah before. It usually meant sitting with them for two or three hours while they verified my identity. I reeled off a list of names of top Hizbullah officials whom they could contact.
However, the Hizbullah men of the Bekaa are a tough, suspicious breed and unused to foreigners tramping around their areas.
Furthermore, Hizbullah has grown more wary of foreign journalists since the recent revelation that two Israeli correspondents had entered Lebanon on foreign passports and reported from the party’s strongholds in Beirut and the south, an act that has made life more difficult and potentially dangerous for Western journalists operating here.
3 Jason Deerborne // Aug 2, 2007 at 1:19 pm
The real story of Hamas collusion with Mumtaz Dagmoush in the “kidnapping” and staged “release” of Alan Johnston. Melaine Phillip’s uncovering of the PRC links to Hamas make a refreshing read given that Charles on this site at least only reiterates the official Hamas line on this story.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/69314/a-major-defeat-in-the-war-to-defend-the-free-world.thtml
4 Charles Levinson // Aug 2, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Sean — i have seen that. I had dinner with Nic Tuesday night and got the whole story. I think it’s worth pointing out to readers who go to far in demonizing Hezbollah and Hamas, that Nic only grew concerned when he realized Hezbollah was going to turn him over to Military Intelligence. Then again, I’m writing this from my hotel growing increasingly frustrated as I wait for Hezbollah permission to go to the south, so I suppose my patience is starting to thin.
But as for the point in bold, there’s no question that correspondents here unanimously feel that Rinat’s and Lisa’s foray to Lebanon has made things more difficult for journalists.
5 Jason Deerborne // Aug 2, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Rinat and Lisa have made things more difficult?! What about Hezbollah, I guess they make things easy for approved journalists. Great work guys keeping the Islamist propaganda machine on its tracks. Very valiant of you both.
6 Solomon2 // Aug 3, 2007 at 2:25 pm
I believe it. There is a reason why Arafat was labelled a “moderate” by Western governments: with one hand he would encourage terrorist movements at arm’s length and with the other he would send Fatah out to recapture or undermine these same competing terrorists, leaving unsuspecting Western governments beholden to him.
I knew about such “favors” that Arafat did for Europeans, but I often wondered what hold Arafat had on the U.S. government. Now we know.
7 Rex Brynen // Aug 5, 2007 at 6:40 pm
I don’t doubt that Hamas came across a treasure trove on information on US-Fateh intelligence cooperation, and Fateh collections operations against Hamas and PIJ. I doubt, however, that Fateh ever collected much quality information outside the WBG (I suspect that its idea of “intelligence” was usually to report whatever rumor was popular in neighboring coffee shops), nor do I think that any COMINT equipment supplied was particularly sophisticated (GSM phone signals, after all, are unencrypted, and can be easily listened to).
8 Roozbeh Mirebrahimi // Mar 29, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Dear Charles Levinson,
Iran dar Jahan, meaning Iran in Universe, is a weekly Internet magazine which gathers all Iran related articles from most famous and prestigious press in English, French and Arabic and translates them to Persian for all our Farsi readers.
On June 25, Iran dar Jahan enters its third year of publication.
Our goal is raising the awareness of Iranian and Farsi speakers about what world press and media covers on Iran. According to our experience either Iranian official media or Iranian opposition outside Iran are using all foreign media articles to publish it with censorship or partly using them. Therefore we focus on real and honest translation, without any interpretation or censorship.
We would love to announce that since we started, we translated some of your writings in different media and papers and published it in our magazine.
Now and in our third annual, I am asking you to share your views on some points so we can publish it in our special issue for our third annual.
No need to say that accepting our request will also motivates all of our colleagues.
Opinion:
1 – What is your general view on our magazine which tries to bring your views and words to Farsi speakers?
2 – Do you see it useful that what you are writing is accessible for those people whom you are writing on them?
3 – As you are familiar with Iran issues, what are the major issues which should be discussed on Iran?
4 – If you are supposed to talk directly to our readers who are mostly inside Iran, and give them sort of a message, what would it be?
Wish you all the best,
Roozbeh Mirebrahimi
Chief in Editor
Iran dar Jahan weekly magazine
Email: roozbeh@irandarjahan.net
roozbehmirebrahimi@gmail.com
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