95-615: Hezbollah–Israel conflict Gaza–Israel conflict Iran–Israel conflict during the Syrian civil war Israel–Yemen conflict Nuclear program of Iran International incidents Operation Outside the Box , also known as Operation Orchard , was an Israeli airstrike on a suspected nuclear reactor, referred to as the Al Kibar site (also referred to in IAEA documents as Dair Alzour), in
190-553: A Khomeinist force opposed to the Free Lebanon State and the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon . Hezbollah controls southern Lebanon and is supported and funded by Iran and serves as their proxy in regional wars. From the inception of Hezbollah to the present the establishment of a Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian refugees to what became Israel has been a primary goal for Hezbollah. Hezbollah not only opposes
285-554: A Mossad asset since 2003, and left only when his cover was about to be blown. Le Figaro claimed that Mossad was possibly behind a blast at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Imam Ali military base, on October 12, 2011. The explosion at the base killed 18 and injured 10 others. Among the dead was also general Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam , who served as the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ missile program and
380-458: A booking for the official in a London hotel, and dispatched at least ten undercover agents to London. The agents were split into three teams. One group was sent to Heathrow Airport to identify the official as he arrived, a second to book into his hotel, and a third to monitor his movements and visitors. Some of the operatives were from the Kidon Division, which specializes in assassinations, and
475-642: A central body to coordinate and improve cooperation between the existing security services—the army's intelligence department ( AMAN ), the Internal Security Service ( Shin Bet ), and the Political Intelligence Service (Mossad). The central body governing the three security services was Va'adat; today it is the Ministry of Intelligence. In March 1951, it was reorganized and incorporated into
570-628: A false sky-picture for the entire period of time that the Israeli fighter jets needed to cross Syria, bomb their target, and return. On 6 March 2017, the Kibar nuclear site was captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces – a U.S.-backed coalition of Kurdish and Arab militia fighters – from a retreating ISIL force in northern Deir Ezzor province. In 2001, the Mossad , Israel's external intelligence service,
665-569: A famine-ridden region of Sudan in 1984, also maintaining a relationship with the Ethiopian government. In 1960, Mossad discovered that the Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann was in Argentina . A team of five Mossad agents led by Shimon Ben Aharon slipped into Argentina and, through surveillance , confirmed that he had been living there under the name of Ricardo Klement. He was abducted on May 11, 1960 and taken to
760-496: A few ELINT aircraft, took off from Ramat David Airbase . Three of the F-15s were ordered back to base, while the remaining seven continued towards Syria. The Israelis destroyed a Syrian radar site in Tall al-Abuad with conventional precision bombs, electronic attack, and jamming. Israel reportedly used electronic warfare to take over Syrian air-defenses and feed them a false-sky picture, for
855-415: A fire broke out at the facility. The edition of 26 September of Jane's Defence Weekly claimed that the explosion happened during tests to weaponise a Scud-C missile with mustard gas . A senior U.S. official told ABC News that, in early summer 2007, Israel had discovered a suspected Syrian nuclear facility, and that the Mossad then "managed to either co-opt one of the facility's workers or to insert
950-474: A hideout. He was subsequently smuggled to Israel, where he was tried and executed. Argentina protested what it considered as a violation of its sovereignty, and the United Nations Security Council noted that "repetition of acts such as [this] would involve a breach of the principles upon which international order is founded, creating an atmosphere of insecurity and distrust incompatible with
1045-458: A public condemnation of Syria, thereby delaying the military strike until Israel feared the information would leak to the press. The Sunday Times also reported that the mission was "personally directed" by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak . Three days before the attack, a North Korean cargo ship carrying materials labeled as cement docked in the Syrian port of Tartus . An Israeli online data analyst, Ronen Solomon, found an internet trace for
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#17330853244031140-613: A response." A month later, terrorists struck at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the largest terrorist attack in history . The US journalists Dylan Howard , Melissa Cronin and James Robertson linked the Mossad to American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in their book Epstein: Dead Men Tell No Tales . They relied for the most part on the former Israeli intelligence officer Ari Ben-Menashe . According to him, Epstein's activities as
1235-403: A secret recruitment ad for its Cyber Division. The ad featured seemingly random letters and numbers, which turned out to be a hidden puzzle. Over 25,000 people attempted to solve it, and while most failed, dozens succeeded and were recruited. In a rare 2012 interview with " Lady Globes ," Mossad fighters talked about the recruitment of men and women to the Mossad, the screening tests, their work in
1330-583: A sense of devotion to Israel. They are recruited by Mossad's field agents, katsas , to provide logistical support for Mossad operations. A sayan running a rental agency, for instance, could help Mossad agents rent a car without the usual documentation. The usage of sayanim allows the Mossad to operate with a slim budget yet conduct vast operations worldwide. Sayanim can have dual citizenships but are often not Israeli citizens. According to Gordon Thomas, there were 4,000 sayanim in Britain and some 16,000 in
1425-558: A spy posing as an employee" at the suspected Syrian nuclear site, and through this was able to get pictures of the target from on the ground." In mid August 2007, Israeli commandos from the Sayeret Matkal reconnaissance unit covertly raided the suspected Syrian nuclear facility and brought nuclear material back to Israel. Two helicopters ferried twelve commandos to the site in order to get photographic evidence and soil samples. The commandos were probably dressed in Syrian uniforms. Although
1520-400: A spy served to gather compromising material on powerful people in order to blackmail them. There is also a possible connection to the Mossad via Ghislaine Maxwell , whose father Robert Maxwell is said to have had contacts with the Mossad. Epstein's victim Virginia Giuffre also alleged Epstein to be an intelligence asset, linking on Twitter to a Reddit page, that alleged Epstein being
1615-692: A spy, running a blackmail operation. In 1965, the Mossad assassinated Latvian Nazi collaborator Herberts Cukurs . A report published on the Israeli military's official website in February 2014 said that Middle Eastern countries that cooperate with Israel (Mossad) are the United Arab Emirates , Afghanistan , the Republic of Azerbaijan , Bahrain and Saudi Arabia . The report claimed that Bahrain has been providing Israel with intelligence on Iranian and Palestinian organizations. The report also highlights
1710-474: A statement released to the press after the meeting he said: "In my conversation with the Turkish prime minister, I told him that if Israeli planes indeed penetrated Turkish airspace, then there was no intention thereby, either in advance or in any case, to—in any way—violate or undermine Turkish sovereignty, which we respect." Abu Mohammed, a former major in the Syrian air force, recounted in 2013 that air defenses in
1805-400: A team of elite Israeli Shaldag special-forces commandos arrived at the site the day before so that they could highlight the target with laser designators , while a later report identified Sayeret Matkal special-forces commandos as involved. The Israeli attack used sophisticated electronic warfare (EW) capabilities, as IAF's EW systems took over Syria's air defense systems, feeding them
1900-539: Is a field intelligence officer of the Mossad. The word katsa is a Hebrew acronym for Hebrew : קצין איסוף , romanized : ktsin issuf , "intelligence officer", literally "gathering officer". A katsa is a case officer who runs agents to clandestinely collect intelligence. The kidon are Mossad's elite assassins. Recruits receive two years of training at Mossad's training facility near Herzliya . Sayanim ( Hebrew : סייענים , lit. helpers, assistants ) are unpaid Jewish civilians who help Mossad out of
1995-463: Is estimated that it employs around 7,000 people, making it one of the world's largest espionage agencies. The organization is alleged to have been involved with many assassination plots across a variety of locations. Mossad was formed on December 13, 1949, as the Central Institute for Coordination at the recommendation of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion to Reuven Shiloah . Ben Gurion wanted
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#17330853244032090-546: Is not the first time Israel has violated" Syrian airspace. Syria also accused the international community of ignoring Israeli actions. A UN spokesperson said Syria had not requested a meeting of the UN Security Council and France , at the time the president of the Security Council , said it had received no letter from Syria. On 27 April 2008, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad , making his first public comments about
2185-635: Is the national intelligence agency of the State of Israel . It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community , along with Aman (military intelligence) and Shin Bet (internal security). Mossad is responsible for intelligence collection , covert operations , and counter-terrorism . Its director answers directly and only to the Prime Minister . Its annual budget is estimated to be around ₪ 10 billion (US$ 2.73 billion), and it
2280-424: Is translated by NRSV as: "Where there is no guidance, a nation falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety." About half of the Mossad's leaders rose through its ranks, while the rest are retired IDF soldiers appointed to head the agency. The Prime Minister personally appoints the head of the Mossad for Intelligence and Special Duties without needing government or other supervisory body approval (unlike
2375-623: The 1994 AMIA bombing , the largest bombing in Argentine history, Mossad began gathering intelligence for a raid by Israeli Special Forces on the Iranian embassy in Khartoum as retaliation. The operation was called off due to fears that another attack against worldwide Jewish communities might take place as revenge. Mossad also assisted in Operation Moses , the evacuation of Ethiopian Jews to Israel from
2470-572: The Deir ez-Zor region of Syria , which occurred just after midnight (local time) on 6 September 2007. The Israeli and U.S. governments did not announce the secret raids for seven months. The White House and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) subsequently confirmed that American intelligence had also indicated the site was a nuclear facility with a military purpose, though Syria denies this. A 2009 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) investigation reported evidence of uranium and graphite and concluded that
2565-819: The Iranian nuclear program . It is also suspected of being behind the attempted assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Fereydoon Abbasi . Meir Dagan , who served as Director of Mossad from 2002 until 2009, while not taking credit for the assassinations, praised them in an interview with a journalist, saying "the removal of important brains" from the Iranian nuclear project had achieved so-called "white defections ", frightening other Iranian nuclear scientists into requesting that they be transferred to civilian projects. In 2018, Mossad agents infiltrated Iran's secret nuclear archive in Tehran and smuggled over 100,000 documents and computer files to Israel. The documents and files showed that
2660-655: The Israeli–Lebanese conflict . The two sides' first engagement occurred during the Lebanese Civil War , as Iran became increasingly involved in Lebanon's internal affairs. With funding from the Iranian government and training and supervision from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps , Hezbollah was built up in Syrian-occupied Lebanon by various religious clerics amidst the 1982 Lebanon War , primarily as
2755-598: The PLO and second in command of Fatah behind Yasser Arafat , in 1991. The 2016 alleged killing of Hamas operative Mohamed Zouari in Tunisia. Known to Israel's security echelon as "The Engineer", he was a Hamas-affiliated engineer who was believed to be constructing drones for the group. He was shot at close range. For Operation Entebbe in 1976, Mossad provided intelligence regarding Entebbe International Airport and extensively interviewed hostages who had been released. In
2850-612: The 1,700-tonne cargo ship, the Al Hamed , which allegedly was docked at Tartus on 3 September. By 25 April 2008 the ship was under the flag of the Comoros . Several newspapers reported that Iranian general Ali Reza Asgari , who had disappeared in February in a possible defection to the West, supplied Western intelligence with information about the site. CNN first reported that the airstrike targeted weapons "destined for Hezbollah militants" and that
2945-611: The 1990s, Mossad began scouting locations in Iraq where Saddam Hussein could be ambushed by Sayeret Matkal commandos inserted into Iraq from Jordan . The mission was called off due to Operation Desert Fox and the ongoing Israeli-Arab peace process. In what is thought to have been a reprisal action for a Hamas suicide-bombing in Jerusalem on July 30, 1997 that killed 16 Israelis, Benjamin Netanyahu authorised an operation against Khaled Mashal ,
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3040-600: The Begin Doctrine has undoubtedly played a role in shaping this global perception. According to official government confirmation on 21 March 2018, the raid was carried out by Israeli Air Force (IAF) 69 Squadron F-15Is , and 119 Squadron and 253 Squadron F-16Is , and an ELINT aircraft ; as many as eight aircraft participated and at least four of these crossed into Syrian airspace. The fighters were equipped with AGM-65 Maverick missiles , 500-pound (230 kg) bombs, and external fuel tanks . One report stated that
3135-567: The Chief of Staff or the Shin Bet 's head). The appointment undergoes review by the advisory committee for appointing senior civil service officials. The term is five years, extendable by the Prime Minister for another year without conditions. Until 1996, the head of Mossad's name was kept confidential. Mossad argued that secrecy allowed the head to move freely worldwide. In response to public criticism,
3230-494: The Deir ez-Zor region were told to stand down as soon as the Israeli planes were detected heading to the reactor. According to a leaked diplomatic cable , the Syrian government placed long-range missiles armed with chemical warheads on high alert after the attack but did not retaliate, fearing an Israeli nuclear counterstrike. Syria at first claimed that its anti-aircraft weapons had fired at Israeli planes, which bombed empty areas in
3325-549: The Hamas representative in Jordan. On September 25, 1997, Mashal was injected in the ear with a toxin (thought to have been a derivative of the synthetic opiate Fentanyl called Levofentanyl). Jordanian authorities apprehended two Mossad agents posing as Canadian tourists and trapped a further six in the Israeli embassy. In exchange for their release, an Israeli physician had to fly to Amman and deliver an antidote for Mashal. The fallout from
3420-641: The Iranian AMAD Project aimed to develop nuclear weapons . Israel shared the information with its allies, including European countries and the United States. In 2024, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad revealed that Iran's intelligence service had established a unit to counter Mossad operations, only for its leader to have been exposed as a Mossad agent in 2021. He also claimed that around 20 Iranian operatives had been acting as double agents , supplying intelligence to Israel. Assistance in
3515-591: The Israeli target was the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands , but the center itself immediately denied this. The following day Syrian President Bashar al-Assad described the bombing target as an "incomplete and empty military complex that was still under construction". He did not provide any further details about the nature of the structure or its purpose. On 14 October The New York Times cited U.S. and Israeli military intelligence sources saying that
3610-512: The Israelis on the floor of the United Nations". He also wrote that in a telephone conversation with Olmert, he suggested that the operation be kept secret for a while and then made public to isolate the Syrian government, but Olmert asked for total secrecy, wanting to avoid anything that might force Syrian retaliation. In April 2011, after a lengthy investigation the IAEA officially confirmed that
3705-543: The Moroccan port of Casablanca and planted a tracking device on the freighter Al-Yarmouk , which was carrying a cargo of North Korean missiles bound for Syria . The ship was to be sunk by the Israeli Air Force , but the mission was later called off by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin . The 1988 killing of Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad), a founder of Fatah . The alleged killing of Salah Khalaf , head of intelligence of
3800-472: The Mossad alongside starting a family, the relationship between the time to prepare for the actions and the actions themselves, working in teams, the emotional intelligence required of them, the nature of the activity, avoiding fame and omnipotence, and conversations with enemies. In 2024, during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict , it was reported in the media that Hezbollah fired a "Qader 1" missile towards
3895-594: The Mossad base in Tel Aviv. The organizational structure of the Mossad is officially classified. Mossad is organized into divisions, led by a director who is equivalent to a major general in the Israel Defense Forces . Mossad opened a venture capital fund in June 2017, to invest in high-tech startups to develop new cyber technologies. The names of technology startups funded by Mossad are not published. A katsa
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3990-466: The Neviot Division, which specializes in breaking into homes, embassies, and hotel rooms to install bugging devices. On the first day of his visit, he visited the Syrian embassy and then went shopping. Kidon operatives closely followed him, while Neviot operatives broke into his hotel room and found his laptop. A computer expert then installed software that allowed the Mossad to monitor his activities on
4085-623: The Palestinian writer and leading PFLP member Ghassan Kanafani by a car bomb in 1972. The provision of intelligence and operational assistance in the 1973 Operation Spring of Youth special forces raid on Beirut . The targeted killing of Ali Hassan Salameh , the leader of Black September , on January 22, 1979 in Beirut by a car bomb. Providing intelligence for the killing of Abbas al-Musawi , secretary general of Hezbollah, in southern Lebanon in 1992. Allegedly killed Jihad Ahmed Jibril ,
4180-506: The Syrian air defense network had been deactivated by a secret built-in kill switch activated by the Israelis. When the aircraft approached the site, the Shaldag commandos directed their targeting laser at the facility, and the F-15Is released their bombs. The facility was totally destroyed. The Shaldag commandos were extracted, and all Israeli aircraft returned to base. On their way back to Israel,
4275-598: The Syrian civil war Israel–Yemen conflict Nuclear program of Iran International incidents Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon Hezbollah–Israel conflict Hezbollah , a Shia Islamist political party and militant organization that was established in Lebanon in 1985, has been involved in a long-running conflict with Israel as part of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict and
4370-506: The U.S. bomb the Syrian site, but Bush refused, saying the intelligence was not definitive on whether the plant was part of a nuclear weapons program. Bush claimed that Olmert did not ask for a green light for an attack and that he did not give one, but that Olmert acted alone and did what he thought was necessary to protect Israel. Another report indicated that Israel planned to attack the site as early as 14 July, but some U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice , preferred
4465-534: The U.S. has observed the site for years by spy satellite. Subsequent searches of satellite imagery discovered that an astronaut aboard the International Space Station had taken a picture of the area on 5 September 2002. The image, though of low resolution, is good enough to show that the building existed as of that date. Hezbollah%E2%80%93Israel conflict Hezbollah–Israel conflict Gaza–Israel conflict Iran–Israel conflict during
4560-552: The UN Charter and welcomed Syria's cooperation with the IAEA in this regard’ (NAM Final Document 2012/Doc.1/Rev.2, para 176). On 10 October 2007, The New York Times reported that the Israelis had shared the Syrian strike dossier with Turkey. In turn, the Turks traveled to Damascus and confronted the Syrians with the dossier, alleging a nuclear program. Syria denied this with vigor, saying that
4655-497: The UN press office's release of a First Committee, Disarmament and International Security meeting's minutes that paraphrased an unnamed Syrian representative as saying that a nuclear facility was hit by the raid, Syria denied the statement, adding that "such facilities do not exist in Syria." However state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said that media reports had misquoted the Syrian diplomat. On
4750-605: The United States and Iran grew more distant in the early 1960s which led the CIA training team to leave Iran , Mossad became increasingly active in Iran, "training SAVAK personnel and carrying out a broad variety of joint operations with SAVAK." A US intelligence official told The Washington Post that Israel orchestrated the defection of Iranian general Ali Reza Askari on February 7, 2007. This has been denied by Israeli spokesman Mark Regev . The Sunday Times reported that Askari had been
4845-470: The United States and planning "a major assault on the United States". The Israeli intelligence agency cautioned the FBI that it had picked up indications of a "large-scale target" in the United States and that Americans would be "very vulnerable". However, "It is not known whether U.S. authorities thought the warning to be credible, or whether it contained enough details to allow counter-terrorism teams to come up with
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#17330853244034940-539: The United States in 1998. Israeli students called bodlim are often used as gofers for Mossad. Mossad's former motto, be-tachbūlōt ta`aseh lekhā milchāmāh ( Hebrew : בתחבולות תעשה לך מלחמה ) is a quote from the Bible (Proverbs 24:6): "For by wise guidance you can wage your war" ( NRSV ). The motto was later changed to another Proverbs passage: be-'éyn tachbūlōt yippol `ām; ū-teshū`āh be-rov yō'éts ( Hebrew : באין תחבולות יפול עם, ותשועה ברוב יועץ , Proverbs 11:14). This
5035-452: The aircraft flew over Turkey and jettisoned fuel tanks over the Hatay and Gaziantep provinces. Immediately following the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , explained the situation, and asked him to relay a message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad that Israel would not tolerate another nuclear plant, but that no further action
5130-458: The airstrike. On 2 October 2007, the IDF confirmed the attack took place, following a request by Haaretz to lift censorship; however, the IDF continued to censor details of the actual strike force and its target. On 28 October, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the Israeli cabinet that he had apologized to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan if Israel violated Turkish airspace. In
5225-598: The attack until 2018. The attack reportedly followed Israeli top-level consultations with the Bush administration . After realizing that the US was not willing to bomb the site after being told so by U.S. President George W. Bush , Prime Minister Ehud Olmert decided to adhere to the 1981 Begin Doctrine and unilaterally strike to prevent a Syrian nuclear weapons capability, despite serious concerns about Syrian retaliation. In stark contrast to
5320-473: The bombing was done covertly and not publicized. Anonymous sources reported that once material was tested and confirmed to have come from North Korea , the United States approved an Israeli attack on the site. Senior U.S. officials later claimed that they were not involved in or approved the attack, but were informed in advance. In his memoir, President G. W. Bush wrote that Prime Minister Olmert requested that
5415-415: The building was not yet operational. Besides a nuclear program, Syria is believed to have extensive arsenals, as well as biological and chemical warheads for its long-range missiles. On 25 February 2009, IAEA officials reported that Ibrahim Othman, Syria's nuclear chief, told a closed IAEA technical meeting that Syria built a missile facility on the site. No Arab government besides Syria formally commented on
5510-426: The calls to a desert location called al-Kibar. Unit 8200 , Israel's signals intelligence and codebreaking unit, added the location to its watch list. The Daily Telegraph , citing anonymous sources, reported that in December 2006, a top Syrian official (according to one article this was the head of the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria, Ibrahim Othman) arrived in London under a false name. The Mossad had detected
5605-415: The computer. When the computer material was examined at Mossad headquarters, officials found blueprints and hundreds of pictures of the Kibar facility in various stages of construction, and correspondence. One photograph showed North Korean nuclear official Chon Chibu meeting with Ibrahim Othman, Syria's atomic energy agency director. Though the Mossad had originally planned to kill the official in London, it
5700-413: The construction was spotted by American satellites in 2003, who detected nothing unusual, partly because the Syrians had banned radio and telephones from the site and handled communications solely by messengers. He said that "The analysis was conclusive that it was a North Korean-type reactor, a gas graphite model" and that "Israel estimates that Iran had paid North Korea between $ 1 billion and $ 2 billion for
5795-532: The defection and rescuing of the family of Munir Redfa , an Iraqi pilot who defected and flew his MiG-21 to Israel in 1966: " Operation Diamond ". Redfa's entire family was also successfully smuggled from Iraq to Israel. Previously unknown information about the MiG-21 was subsequently shared with the United States. Operation Sphinx – Between 1978 and 1981, obtained highly sensitive information about Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor by recruiting an Iraqi nuclear scientist in France. Operation Bramble Bush II – In
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#17330853244035890-435: The desert, or later, a military construction site. During the two days following the attack, Turkish media reported finding Israeli fuel tanks in Hatay and Gaziantep Province , and the Turkish Foreign Minister lodged a formal protest with the Israeli envoy. In a letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations , Ban Ki-moon , Syria called the incursion a "breach of airspace of the Syrian Arab Republic" and said "it
5985-456: The doctrine's prior usage against Iraq , the airstrike against Syria did not elicit international outcry. A main reason is that Israel maintained total and complete silence regarding the attack, and Syria covered up its activities at the site and did not cooperate fully with the IAEA. The international silence may have been a tacit recognition of the inevitability of preemptive attacks on "clandestine nuclear programs in their early stages." If true,
6080-417: The entire period of time that the Israeli fighter jets needed to cross Syria, bomb their target and return. This technology which neutralized Syrian radars may be similar to the Suter airborne network attack system . This would make it possible to feed enemy radar emitters with false targets, and even directly manipulate enemy sensors. In May 2008, a report in IEEE Spectrum cited European sources claiming that
6175-400: The face of an imminent nuclear or military threat from Syria." The bill had 15 cosponsors, but never reached a vote. On 26 October, The New York Times published satellite photographs showing that the Syrians had almost entirely removed all remains of the facility. U.S. intelligence sources noted that such an operation would usually take up to a year to complete and expressed astonishment at
6270-448: The failed killing eventually led to the release of Sheik Ahmed Yassin , the founder and spiritual leader of the Hamas movement, and scores of Hamas prisoners. Netanyahu flew into Amman on September 29 to apologize personally to King Hussein, but he was instead met by the King's brother, Crown Prince Hassan. The sending of letter bombs to PFLP member Bassam Abu Sharif in 1972. Sharif was severely wounded, but survived. The killing of
6365-734: The government and policies of the State of Israel, but also each and every Jewish civilian who lives in Israel. Its 1985 manifesto reportedly states "our struggle will end only when this entity [Israel] is obliterated. We recognize no treaty with it, no ceasefire, and no peace agreements." Engagements between Israel and Hezbollah are a part of the wider Iran–Israel proxy conflict , including: Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations ( Hebrew : המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים , romanized : ha-Mosád le-Modiʿín u-le-Tafkidím Meyuḥadím ), popularly known as Mossad ( UK : / ˈ m ɒ s æ d / MOSS -ad ; US : / m oʊ ˈ s ɑː d / moh- SAHD ),
6460-408: The government began revealing the head's name when Danny Yatom assumed office. Together with Shurat HaDin , Mossad started Operation Harpoon, for "destroying terrorists' money networks". In September 1956, Mossad established a secretive network in Morocco to smuggle Moroccan Jews to Israel after a ban on immigration to Israel was imposed. In early 1991, two Mossad operatives infiltrated
6555-450: The growing secret cooperation with Saudi Arabia, claiming that Mossad has been in direct contact with Saudi intelligence about Iran ’s nuclear energy program. Prior to the Iranian Revolution of 1978–79, SAVAK (Organization of National Security and Information), the Iranian secret police and intelligence service was created under the guidance of United States and Israeli intelligence officers in 1957. After security relations between
6650-399: The incident. The Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram commented on the "synchronized silence of the Arab world." Neither the Israeli nor Syrian government has offered a detailed description of what occurred. Outside experts and media commentators have filled the data vacuum by offering their own diverse interpretations about what precisely happened that night. Western commentators took the position that
6745-408: The lack of official non-Syrian Arab condemnations of Israel's action, threats of retaliation against Israel, or even professions of support for the Syrian government or people must imply that their governments tacitly supported the Israeli action. Even Iranian officials have not formally commented on the Israeli attack or Syria's reactions. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was asked if North Korea
6840-512: The late 1990s, after Mossad was tipped off to the presence of two Iranian agents in Johannesburg on a mission to procure advanced weapons systems from Denel , a Mossad agent was deployed, and met up with a local Jewish contact. Posing as South African intelligence, they abducted the Iranians, drove them to a warehouse, and beat and intimidated them before forcing them to leave the country. After
6935-422: The mission was successful, it had to be aborted earlier than planned after the Israelis were spotted by Syrian soldiers. Soil analysis revealed traces of nuclear activity. There was disagreement between CIA director Michael Hayden and Mossad director Meir Dagan about whether the site should be bombed. Hayden was fearful that this would cause an all-out war, but Dagan was sure that Assad would not react, so long as
7030-502: The operation and congratulated Prime Minister Olmert. Netanyahu advisor Uzi Arad later told Newsweek "I do know what happened, and when it comes out it will stun everyone." On 17 September, Prime Minister Olmert announced that he was ready to make peace with Syria "without preset conditions and without ultimatums". According to a poll done by the Dahaf Research Institute, Olmert's approval rating rose from 25% to 35% after
7125-406: The preservation of peace" while also acknowledging that "Eichmann should be brought to appropriate justice for the crimes of which he is accused" and that "this resolution should in no way be interpreted as condoning the odious crimes of which Eichmann is accused." Mossad abandoned a second operation, intended to capture Josef Mengele . During the 1990s, Mossad discovered that a Hezbollah agent
7220-553: The prime minister's office, reporting directly to the Prime Minister of Israel . Due to Mossad's accountability directly to the prime minister and not to the Knesset , journalist Ronen Bergman has described Mossad as a " deep state ". In the 1990s, Aliza Magen-Halevi became the highest-ranking woman in Mossad's history when she served as the agency's deputy director under Shabtai Shavit and Danny Yatom . The Mossad made an unusual move on Israel's 68th Independence Day by releasing
7315-418: The project". He also wrote that just before the Israeli operation, a North Korean ship was intercepted en route to Syria with nuclear fuel rods. Ten Israeli F-15I Ra'am fighter jets (including aircraft '209') from the Israeli Air Force 69th Squadron armed with laser-guided bombs, escorted by F-16I Sufa fighter jets – including aircraft '432' from 253rd squadron and '459' from 119th squadron – and
7410-402: The public our cards." Israeli papers were banned from doing their own reporting on the airstrike. On 16 September, the head of Israeli military intelligence , Amos Yadlin , told a parliamentary committee that Israel regained its "deterrent capability". The first public acknowledgment by an Israeli official came on 19 September, when opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had backed
7505-418: The raid, dismissed the allegations that it was a nuclear site which was attacked as false: "Is it logical? A nuclear site did not have protection with surface to air defenses? A nuclear site within the footprint of satellites in the middle of Syria in an open area in the desert?" Independent experts, however, suggested that Syria did not fortify its suspected reactor in order to avoid drawing attention and because
7600-611: The same day, the IAEA's Mohamed ElBaradei criticized the raid, saying that "to bomb first and then ask questions later [...] undermines the system and it doesn't lead to any solution to any suspicion." The IAEA had been observing the disabling of the DPRK Yongbyon nuclear facilities since July 2007, and was responsible for the containment and surveillance of the fuel rods and other nuclear materials from there. U.S. House Resolution 674, introduced on 24 September 2007, expressed "unequivocal support ... for Israel's right to self defense in
7695-538: The site bore features resembling an undeclared nuclear reactor. IAEA was initially unable to confirm or deny the nature of the site because, according to IAEA, Syria failed to provide necessary cooperation with the IAEA investigation. Syria has disputed these claims. Nearly four years later, in April 2011 during the Syrian Civil War , the IAEA officially confirmed that the site was a nuclear reactor. Israel did not acknowledge
7790-534: The site was a nuclear reactor. In 2012, the Non-aligned Movement adopted a statement according to which: 'The Heads of State or Government underscored the Movement's principled position concerning non-use or threat of use of force against the territorial integrity of any State. In this regard, they condemned the Israeli attack against a Syrian facility on 6 September 2007, which constitutes a flagrant violation of
7885-525: The speed with which it was carried out. Former weapons inspector David Albright believed that the work was meant to hide evidence of wrongdoing. On 28 April 2008, CIA Director Michael Hayden said that a suspected Syrian reactor bombed by Israel had the capacity to produce "enough plutonium for one or two weapons per year", and that it was of a "similar size and technology" to North Korea 's Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center. In his memoir Decision Points , President George W. Bush claimed that
7980-472: The strike "left a big hole in the desert". One week later, The Washington Post reported that U.S. and Israeli intelligence gathered information on a nuclear facility constructed in Syria with North Korean aid, and that the target was a "facility capable of making unconventional weapons". According to The Sunday Times , there were claims of a cache of nuclear materials from North Korea . Syrian Vice-President Faruq Al Shara announced on 30 September that
8075-478: The strike confirmed that Syria had been pursuing a nuclear-weapons program and that "intelligence is not an exact science", relating that while he had been told that U.S. analysts only had low confidence that the facility was part of a nuclear-weapons program, surveillance after the airstrike showed parts of the destroyed facility being covered up. Bush wrote that "if the facility was really just an innocent research lab, Syrian President Assad would have been screaming at
8170-574: The target had been a nuclear reactor under construction by North Korean technicians, with a number of the technicians having been killed in the strike. On 2 December The Sunday Times quoted Uzi Even , a professor at Tel Aviv University and a founder of the Negev Nuclear Research Center , saying that he believes that the Syrian site was built to process plutonium and assemble a nuclear bomb, using weapons-grade plutonium originally from North Korea. He also said that Syria's quick burial of
8265-582: The target site with tons of soil was a reaction to fears of radiation. On 19 March 2009, Hans Rühle , former chief of the planning staff of the German Defense Ministry , wrote in the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung that Iran was financing a Syrian nuclear reactor. Rühle did not identify the sources of his information. He wrote that U.S. intelligence had detected North Korean ship deliveries of construction supplies to Syria that started in 2002, and that
8360-540: The target was a storage depot for strategic missiles. On 25 October 2007, The New York Times reported that two commercial satellite photos taken before and after the raid showed that a square building no longer exists at the suspected site. On 27 October 2007, The New York Times reported that the imaging company Geoeye released an image of the building from 16 September 2003, and from this security analyst John Pike estimated that construction began in 2001. "A senior intelligence official" also told The New York Times that
8455-450: Was a crucial figure in building Iran's long-range missile program. The base is believed to store long-range missiles, including the Shahab-3 , and also has hangars. It is one of Iran's most secure military bases. Mossad has been accused of assassinating Masoud Alimohammadi , Ardeshir Hosseinpour , Majid Shahriari , Darioush Rezaeinejad and Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan ; scientists involved in
8550-462: Was decided to spare his life following the discovery. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was notified. The following month, Olmert formed a three-member panel to report on Syria's nuclear program. The CIA was also informed and the American intelligence network joined the quest for more information. Six months later, Brigadier-General Yaakov Amidror , one of the panel's members, informed Olmert that Syria
8645-461: Was helping Syria in the nuclear realm, but replied only that "we are watching the North Koreans very carefully. We watch the Syrians very carefully." The North Korean government strongly condemned Israel's actions: "This is a very dangerous provocation little short of wantonly violating the sovereignty of Syria and seriously harassing the regional peace and security." On 17 October, in reaction to
8740-590: Was operating inside the United States to procure materials needed to manufacture IEDs and other weapons. In a joint operation with U.S. intelligence, the Hezbollah agent was kept under surveillance in hopes that his communications would expose additional Hezbollah operatives. The agent was eventually arrested. Mossad informed the FBI and CIA in August 2001 that, based on its intelligence, as many as 200 terrorists were slipping into
8835-486: Was planned. Olmert said that Israel did not want to play up the incident and was still interested in peace with Syria, adding that if Assad chose not to draw attention to the incident, he would do likewise. The first report about the raid came from CNN . Israel initially did not comment on the incident, although Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did say that "The security services and Israeli defence forces are demonstrating unusual courage. We naturally cannot always show
8930-404: Was profiling newly inducted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad . Visits by North Korean dignitaries, which focused on advanced arms deliveries, were noticed. Aman , Israel's military intelligence department, suggested nuclear arms were being discussed, but the Mossad dismissed this theory. In spring 2004, U.S. intelligence reported multiple communications between Syria and North Korea, and traced
9025-537: Was working with North Korea and Iran on a nuclear facility. Iran had funneled $ 1 billion to the project, and planned on using the Kibar facility to replace Iranian facilities if Iran was unable to complete its uranium enrichment program. In July 2007, an explosion occurred in Musalmiya , northern Syria. The official Sana news agency said 15 Syrian military personnel were killed and 50 people were injured. The agency reported only that "very explosive products" blew up after
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