Israeli operatives are conducting widespread surveillance of US troops and allies at the new US base in southern Israel meant to monitor Gaza, The Guardian reported on Monday.
The report said that the scale of spying was so widespread that the US commander of the base, Lt. Gen. Patrick Frank, summoned an Israeli counterpart for a meeting to tell him that “recording has to stop here.” Personnel from other countries at the base have also raised concerns about Israel recording conversations inside the base.
The Guardian cited sources who had been briefed on disputes about open and covert recording of meetings and discussions at the base. In response to the report, the IDF said that it “documents and summarizes meetings in which it is present through protocols, as any professional organisation of this nature does in a transparent and agreed upon manner,” but added that the “claim that the IDF is gathering intelligence on its partners in meetings which the IDF is an active participant is absurd.”
The US established the base, officially known as the Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), to monitor the Gaza ceasefire deal, which Israel continues to violate by launching regular attacks against Palestinians inside the Strip. Initially, the US sent 200 troops to the base, though The Guardian reported that dozens had recently left.
Israel has also violated the ceasefire deal by continuing to restrict humanitarian aid. Last month, it was reported that the CMCC replaced Israel as the “overseer” of aid entering Gaza, but a US official speaking to the Guardian disputed the idea that the US was now in charge of the deliveries.
“We didn’t take over [aid],” the official said. “It is an integration. It is hand in glove. They [The Israelis] remain the hand, and the CMMC have become the glove over that hand.” The report said that US logistics experts arrived at the CMCC to help boost aid deliveries, but they soon learned that the biggest impediment to the shipments was Israel’s restrictions, and that within weeks, several dozen had left.
