User:ChillyDrafts/draft2

Timeline of Israeli espionage scandals

The Mossad has a long history of exposure and incompetence.

1954

 * Lavon Affair (aka Operation Susannah)

1963

 * Issar Harel resigns after the exposure of Operation Damocles by the Swiss police. He refused to shut down the program, an attempt to intimidate, hound and murder German scientists allegedly developing rockets for Egypt, despite being requested to do so by Ben-Gurion.

1967

 * A pair of Mossad officers were caught breaking into the former home of a Gestapo official.

1973
During the Operation Wrath of God Mossad hit squads kill a Norwegian civilian of Moroccan origin. The Mossad agents responsible were caught and tried but eventually handed back to Israel. Israel offers X to the victim's family.

1985
Jonathan Pollard

1987

 * Britain complains to Israel that it is forging British passports. Israel assures Britain that it has permanetly halted the practice. This issue would re-emerge 23 years later in the Mahbouh assassination.

1991

 * Israelie

1997
Khaled Meshaal


 * 1991 - Four Israelis are arrested during an apparent attempt to bug the Iranian embassy in Cyprus. They are released for lack of evidence.


 * 1997 - Two Mossad assassins are captured by Jordanian authorities after a failed attempt to kill Khaled Meshaal, a leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas. They are sent home after Israel frees jailed Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin.


 * 1998 - A group of Israelis is discovered trying to tap the phones of a suspected Lebanese Hezbollah militant in Switzerland. In a closed-door trial, one Israeli, described in the media as a Mossad officer, is fined and given a suspended jail sentence. His three accomplices are released.

- In Cyprus, two suspected Mossad officers are arrested and charged with spying on sensitive military installations. They are released after nine months in prison under a plea bargain.


 * 2004 - Two Israelis are sentenced to six months in jail by an Auckland court after they admit trying to obtain a New Zealand passport fraudulently. Wellington suspects they are from the Mossad and suspends relations with Israel in protest. A year later, Israel apologizes to New Zealand, which restores ties.


 * 2010 - UAE police say they issued international arrest warrants for suspects in the killing of Mabhouh, who include German, British, French and Irish passport-holders. Two Palestinians are also held by the UAE for suspected complicity.

(Writing by Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Additional writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; editing by David Stamp)