Israeli Spy Network Uncovered in Egypt

Main suspect arrested after months of surveillance

In this Wednesday, February 13, 2013 photo, tourists visit St. Catherine’s Monastery, located at the foot of Mount Sinai, Egypt. (AP)

Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat—An Israeli spy network operating in northern Sinai was uncovered by Egyptian security forces, according to local press reports.

Members of the alleged spy cell are suspected of transmitting information on army and police positions in North Sinai, the location of checkpoints, and the type of arms being used by security forces.

According to Egypt’s Al-Akhbar newspaper, authorities uncovered a suspected spy cell operating in Rafah consisting of nine people of Palestinian and Egyptian origin.

Four members of the suspected spy cell were arrested while the remaining five were still at large and were being sought by Egyptian police.

Al-Akhbar reports that espionage network was uncovered after the principle suspect was arrested in Rafah. The suspect, an Egyptian national, implicated the remaining members of the spy cell under questioning.

According to the news report, Egyptian security forces had the main suspect under surveillance for four months before his arrest, where during that period he was followed and his phone conversations recorded.

After his arrest, the suspect admitted to having provided Israel’s Mossad with unspecified military information.

In October 2011, Egypt freed a dual US–Israeli citizen under a prisoner exchange after he was arrested in Cairo and accused of working for the Mossad and sowing sectarian strife in Egypt. He denied those allegations.

In September 2012, Egypt’s media reported that the Mossad had infiltrated the Sinai and assassinated Ibrahim Ouda Bereikat, a Jihadist based in Sinai.

According to Ahram Online, four Mossad officers hired four Bedouin tribesmen in Sinai to help assassinate Ibrahim Bereikat.

Asharq Al-Awsat

Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities. Launched in London in 1978, Asharq Al-Awsat has established itself as the decisive publication on pan-Arab and international affairs, offering its readers in-depth analysis and exclusive editorials, as well as the most comprehensive coverage of the entire Arab world.

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