Report: Intelligence between US, Israel strong despite political tensions

Leaked documents published by 'The Intercept' reveal continued cooperation between the NSA and Israeli intelligence agencies.

By JACOB RYAN
Digital Ground Army command-and-control system 370 (photo credit: IDF Spokesman’s Office)
Digital Ground Army command-and-control system 370
(photo credit: IDF Spokesman’s Office)
Extensive collaboration between the US National Security Agency and Israeli intelligence services was revealed by journalist Glenn Greenwald through documents published by The Intercept on Tuesday.
The Intercept is an online publication founded in early 2014 to report on documents released by Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked thousands of classified documents the previous year – which he acquired while working for the NSA.
Russia has since offered Snowden temporary asylum.
Despite reports of cool relations between the intelligence services of the two allies, the documents purportedly proved that Israel’s signals intelligence unit, 8200 SIGINT, was working with US, Britain and Canada to collect signals around the Middle East.
The documents did not show any cases of US intelligence agents identifying Palestinian targets for Israeli strikes.
The highly classified report showed an alleged exchange of information between the two countries, in which Israel benefits from “US technology and equipment via accommodation buys and foreign military sales,” among other initiatives.
The document also shared the American benefits of such a relationship, such as access to “high priority SIGINT targets” and access to a number of “highly qualified analysts,” via the Israeli government.
The leak went on to illustrate common strategic threats including, most notably, provisions to counter “Palestinian terrorism.”
The report also showed the increased information sharing, specifically regarding Egyptian surveillance – dating back to the Morsi regime.
It is unclear in the report if such efforts continued after the ousting of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi.
Other mutual targets included “the countries of North Africa, the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, South Asia and the Islamic republics of the former Soviet Union.”
Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.


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