Report: Mossad Tried to Recruit French Agents during Joint Operation in Syria
Le Monde reveals that the Israeli espionage agency attempted to turn French agents during a joint operation against Syria's chemical weapons program
IsraelDefense
| 27/03/2017
Mossad Chief, Yossi Cohen (Photo: AP)
Israeli intelligence agency Mossad attempted to infiltrate French espionage services and turn some of its employees into double agents who would provide Israel with secret intelligence, according to the French daily Le Monde.
Le Monde supported its claims by including in its report excerpts it had obtained from an internal report written by French intelligence. According to the report, the Mossad had tried to develop relationships with French spies "to the point of crossing the line of turning them into double agents."
The attempt by the Mossad to turn French spies reportedly took place between 2010 and 2011, when French secret services and the Israeli agency collaborated to combat the Syrian regime's plans of developing chemical weapons. During the joint operation, which was dubbed 'Ratafia,' the French counterintelligence agency and the Mossad tried to recruit a senior Syrian engineer with the intention of luring him to come to France to gain additional training and help recruit other engineers.
However, as the French intelligence report suggests, the Israeli agents had taken advantage of their proximity to their French counterparts to try and persuade a number of them to become regular intelligence sources for Israel.
Le Monde's report claimed that Operation Ratafia was considered a significant success by the Mossad, as it enabled Israel to prove that the cooperation between the EU and Syria was utilized to bolster Syrian President Bashar Assad's notorious chemical weapons program.
The French daily also said that the Mossad was successful in recruiting the aforementioned Syrian engineer and extracting information from him regarding the Syrian chemical weapons arsenal.
Le Monde noted several suspicious incidents that the report had highlighted, such as an instance when one of the French agents attended a Shabbat dinner at the house of the Mossad's Paris bureau chief. The same agent later reported that he was going on vacation to Dubai when in fact he traveled to Israel, where he spent time with Mossad agents without reporting that he had done so.
This article was originally published on the Jerusalem Post.
Le Monde reveals that the Israeli espionage agency attempted to turn French agents during a joint operation against Syria's chemical weapons program
Mossad Chief, Yossi Cohen (Photo: AP)
Israeli intelligence agency Mossad attempted to infiltrate French espionage services and turn some of its employees into double agents who would provide Israel with secret intelligence, according to the French daily Le Monde.
Le Monde supported its claims by including in its report excerpts it had obtained from an internal report written by French intelligence. According to the report, the Mossad had tried to develop relationships with French spies "to the point of crossing the line of turning them into double agents."
The attempt by the Mossad to turn French spies reportedly took place between 2010 and 2011, when French secret services and the Israeli agency collaborated to combat the Syrian regime's plans of developing chemical weapons. During the joint operation, which was dubbed 'Ratafia,' the French counterintelligence agency and the Mossad tried to recruit a senior Syrian engineer with the intention of luring him to come to France to gain additional training and help recruit other engineers.
However, as the French intelligence report suggests, the Israeli agents had taken advantage of their proximity to their French counterparts to try and persuade a number of them to become regular intelligence sources for Israel.
Le Monde's report claimed that Operation Ratafia was considered a significant success by the Mossad, as it enabled Israel to prove that the cooperation between the EU and Syria was utilized to bolster Syrian President Bashar Assad's notorious chemical weapons program.
The French daily also said that the Mossad was successful in recruiting the aforementioned Syrian engineer and extracting information from him regarding the Syrian chemical weapons arsenal.
Le Monde noted several suspicious incidents that the report had highlighted, such as an instance when one of the French agents attended a Shabbat dinner at the house of the Mossad's Paris bureau chief. The same agent later reported that he was going on vacation to Dubai when in fact he traveled to Israel, where he spent time with Mossad agents without reporting that he had done so.
This article was originally published on the Jerusalem Post.
