Israel shows off new drone technology

24/7; 365; 8200; or, inside the IDF's top-secret mountaintop spy unit

At 2,224 meters (7,300 feet) above sea level, inside Mount Hermon, intelligence operatives listen to signals around the clock • Overlooking Syria, the men and women of this secluded electronic surveillance outpost are the first line of defense in preventing surprise attacks.

First lieutenant A. says he will never forget his first time. "I was in ecstasy, I felt like I was on top of the world. There is nothing like it; it's better than anything, even the greatest party in town. Wow.

"I heard some tremendous information over the earphones. I was a young signals intelligence interceptor, two weeks after completing a difficult training course here. I just jumped up over my desk and ran to the commanding officer's window and said to him: 'I have gold in my hands. Gold!'"

Today, A. is the commander of a signals intelligence team in the elite Israle Defense Forces Military Intelligence unit 8200. His team is situated in an outpost atop the snow-covered Mount Hermon — an outpost that has been labeled "the eyes of the nation."

For the first time, the IDF has allowed the outpost to be exposed in the media, giving a rare glimpse into the mysterious and secretive lives of the soldiers perched at the highest altitude in Israel, at 2,224 meters (7,300 feet) above sea level. They are glued to their headsets 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and they listen to anything that moves, or doesn’t move, in Syria. The goal: to ensure that Israel is not caught by surprise, as it was 39 years ago, when Arab states launched a surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. They are not just the eyes but also the ears of the nation.

The outpost is located literally inside the mountain, in tunnels dug in the 1980s as part of the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War. Below the outpost lies a Syrian village, and you can see all of the Golan Heights from there. Not far from the outpost, bloody battles are being waged between the army of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the rebels, and Israel is closely monitoring the developments, not without concern.

The 8200 unit transferred to this outpost some five years ago. A tunnel leads to the lower part of the outpost, inside the mountain. That is where the listening devices are housed as well as soldiers' quarters, a dining hall, a lounge, a gym and a training room. The thick metal doors usually require codes, and everything is under wraps, top secret. There is a feeling of intelligence and information locked in every hollowed rock wall.

The upper level of the outpost, out in the open air, is where the antennas are held within giant domes. The small outpost looks like a decked-out mobile telephone company fortress. The unit gathers intelligence via signals (a field known as SIGINT), decrypts codes and uses cutting edge technology to do it.

Col. Y., the unit's commanding officer, takes us upstairs in an almost pre-historic elevator that feels as if it might stop working at any minute. There is an indescribable difference between the two levels. The old, rusty elevator takes you on a minutes-long anxiety-ridden ride to the upper level, and that is were you really find yourself at incredible heights.

"Here, in front of Mount Hermon, I get the feeling that I am conquering peaks of information," says Y. "I feel the weight of the responsibility we have been given. Everything begins here. This is where the initial information processing takes place. These antennas intercept signals that undergo decryption in technology networks and end up in the listening center. That is the core of the initial work on the intelligence chain. From here, the information is passed on to the head of military intelligence, to decision-makers, and to military divisions in the field."

There are several security positions around the outpost, manned by paratroopers. The view is breathtaking. The unbridled power of the Golan Heights is laid out in front of your eyes. The feeling is that the entire world is in their hands. The Syrian homes in the village below look like Lego pieces.

Lt. Col. L., 8200 regional commander, says that every time he climbs up to the top and stands next to the mighty antennas he is reminded of the reasons he is so proud to be serving in the IDF.

"At the heart of every intelligence soldier lies the Yom Kippur War trauma," he says. "We teach the youngest private never to take any chances, and if necessary, then yes, wake even the head of military intelligence in the middle of the night with this or that piece of information, even if it turns out to be less important than he or she thought."

Couldn't the enormous pressure on soldiers not to miss anything devolve into paranoia?

"There is no paranoia, but there is a lot of responsibility. They have to decide which material to process and which to ignore, and that requires a lot of thought, a lot of listening and a lot of understanding."

Are there soldiers who couldn't stand the pressure and asked to quit?

Base commander Capt. D. intervenes in the conversation, saying, "There were a handful of cases in which soldiers became stressed out at one particular point and we stepped in and helped them, whether it was by letting them skip a shift or by providing mental assistance, but I don't know of anyone who quit. The screening for the unit is so stringent that we only get the best people — the ones with strong characters, maturity and a lot of motivation."

"This is not a conventional place," says another senior officer. "The entire region is undergoing profound changes, as are the technological circumstances, and I can't overstate the drama that is unfolding here. [In the past] we had to monitor two and a half fronts, but today we live in a much more complex and challenging age, and so are the demands. Our job has come to cover a lot more ground and we need to keep reinventing ourselves."

Can you say with any degree of confidence that Israel won't be caught off guard again as it was in 1973?

"As an intelligence officer, I am never at ease. The moment I become comfortable, they will have to replace me. Maybe we won't be surprised as we were in the Yom Kippur War, but that doesn't mean that we can rest assured that we will know everything. In the past, you had to give warning before going to war. Today, things are different. Things are happening in Syria, Egypt has undergone profound changes, a lot of new players have entered the arena. We can never think that we won't ever be caught off guard again.

"I am rather perturbed by the threat coming out of Sinai, and from the no-man's land that has erupted right under my nose. Even the border with Lebanon is never calm. Our job is to understand the dangers and the various scenarios, to accurately analyze all the challenges, to act in a much wider and varied fashion and to doubt everything. To be sober."

Down below, the listening center looks like a beehive, teeming with activity. There are quite a few female and male soldiers, a small percentage of them young people who began the process of screening and selection before their recruitment, and then completed short basic training before moving onto a grueling training course. They come here after six months in the army.

Manning the listening center are signals intelligence (SIGINT) operators, equipped with headphones, technological and intelligence accessories, and facing computer screens. A standard shift lasts eight hours, and the operators remain constantly attentive, believing that every conversation they intercept can save lives, and that they have a crucial role in formulating deterrence.

Cpl. D. is a SIGINT operator. She is 20 years old, with big, inquisitive eyes, black, wavy hair, and pleasant smile reflecting a satisfaction which she is not particularly trying to hide. Every morning she jumps out of bed before 6 a.m. to get to her shift on time, already eager to begin her work, listen in on Arabic conversations, and intercept information.

She began serving here about a year ago. Like the others, she was marked for the role even before her recruitment. "In high school, I took Arabic at the highest level and always knew that I wanted to serve in intelligence. I specifically wanted to serve in this post in the Hermon. This is a small and intimate place which offers huge challenges and gives a lot of satisfaction.”

And also a lot of pressure?

"I don't panic," she says. "It doesn't bother me to hear so much Arabic in one day, it's my duty, and I'm not willing to give up on it. I wasn't looking for an easy army service that was close to home. I didn't want to be at the Azrieli Mall (in Tel Aviv) all the time after just another boring day at the Kirya. I wanted to go far, even though during the winter, it's hard here. But this is the place. This is the core of the army's intelligence. This is the work I dreamed of doing for so long."

You're not afraid of a war breaking out precisely during your shift?

"Sure, it has crossed my mind. We've been briefed over such situations. But I get excited every day by the fact that I can make an impact through the information that I am intercepting and passing on. We already had a situation in which we were all watching a good movie, and suddenly one of the operators burst into the room and said his group caught on to something good, a valuable conversation. Everyone stopped what they were doing and we all came to lend a hand. These are the moments we're all waiting for — to catch valuable pieces of information, and as much as possible.”

"We aren’t chosen for 8200 based on how the prescription number of our eye glasses," says a smiling soldier. "We need to know Arabic, English and sometimes other languages. We have to be well-versed in computers. But we're also young guys who know how to live, laugh, dance. We're not always so serious.

"We learned this technique for how you can slightly move the headphones from our ears so we can hear if one of the guys tells a good joke, and then our ears are split between laughs and listening to the information. This is very liberating; it's something we need from time to time. Sometimes we also need a little breather, so every once in a while we'll have an evening of fun near the antennas on the upper level. We bring our coffee kit, sit with our guitars and sing."

Cpl. D. chimes in: "We have a good time. We are all good friends; it feels like family. After I finish a shift, I can go see a movie at the club or work out at the gym. We also cook good food for ourselves at night. There's life after work."

And yes, in case you were wondering, love stories have come out of the outpost, and even weddings.

Israeli intelligence cracks massive Hezbollah bomb plot

In "Operation Time Bomb," police and Israel Security Agency arrest 14 Israeli Arab members of terrorist cell that smuggled weapons and explosives from Lebanon into Israel • Security services disrupt plot before bombs get to their handler, foiling plans to carry out huge wave of terrorist attacks against Israeli targets.

Israel Hayom Staff

Some of the explosives intended for use against Israeli targets.  |  Photo credit: Israel Police

<< 1 2 3 >>

Israel has foiled a massive plot to carry out a "mega-attack" or wave of several deadly terrorist attacks against Israeli targets, it was announced on Wednesday. The Israel Police's Northern District's Border Unit and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) scored a significant intelligence success by uncovering an Israeli-Arab cell smuggling weapons and explosives from Lebanon into Israel.

Eleven suspects were indicted Wednesday in a Nazareth court on charges of aiding the enemy in a time of war, meeting with foreign agents, possession of weapons,conspiracy to commit a crime, attempted drug smuggling and attempted drug trafficking.

Following the lifting of a gag order on the case Wednesday, it was revealed that the cell, made up of three distinct groups and comprising 14 individuals smuggled in 24 ready-to-use C4 high-quality bombs with attached timers into the northern border town of Ghajar, which straddles the Israel-Lebanon border. In addition to the explosive devices, the suspected cell members were caught, following an extensive intelligence gathering operation, with an FN MAG general-purpose machine gun and an M16 rifle stolen from the Israel Defense Forces.



Of the 14 suspects, six are from Ghajar (one of the suspects is reportedly just 17 years old and another is related to the village's elder), six are from Nazareth and one from Ramle in the center of the country.

From Ghajar, the explosives were transferred to Kafr Kana and Nazareth. The operation was dubbed "Time Bomb" as the security services were racing against time to make sure the explosives weren't scattered across the country. The cells were operated by the Hezbollah: One cell operated in Lebanon and transferred the explosives to the cell based in Ghajar. The Ghajar cell then worked with the Nazareth-based cell. According to police, some communication between the cells was done through cellphone SIM cards procured in Jordan.

"This is one of the most severe and dangerous security plots we've had here. The intelligence provided by the police's northern border unit was of extremely high quality," a district police officer told Israel Radio on Wednesday.

Police said that Hezbollah used an existing drug smuggling network of Israeli Arabs to bring 24 ready-to-use bombs from Lebanon into Israel. Some of the smugglers were not aware that they were transporting explosives, whilst others did know, police added.

According to the Northern District's Spokesperson's Office, "Over the past year, Hezbollah has been greatly motivated to carry out terrorist attacks against Israelis and Jews. Hezbollah has worked to gather intelligence information to carry out a significant terrorist attack. In order to achieve their set goal of carrying out a high-profile, effective attack inside Israel, Hezbollah smuggled in large bombs, including operating systems and timers."

In a press conference, a Shin Bet official said that the agency decided to swoop in on the cell after the bombs were moved from the northern border town of Ghajar to Nazareth. It remains unclear who the eventual recipients of the explosives are, and there is speculation from security experts that since the bombs did not reach their intended handlers, there is a strong possibility that a Hezbollah sleeper cell is still active in Israel. The Shin Bet told reporters that it decided to act to take 20 kilograms of C4 explosives off the streets. Agency officials said that Hezbollah uses tactics of crime organizations, making use of drug smuggling networks. This is just the tip of the iceberg of Hezbollah terror activity, the official said. Since Hezbollah has been deterred from heating up the Lebanese border with Israel, it is trying to spread terror abroad, such as the July attack against Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, and inside Israel, the official said.

Israel Police's Northern District and Central Investigations Unit received an initial tip-off on the modus operandi of the cell, and then passed on the information to the Shin Bet.

Northern District Police Commander Maj. Gen. Roni Atia said following the arrests: "Uncovering the cell prevented horrible attacks. In these days, in which the complex security situation affects us at home and abroad, the Israeli public has an opportunity to see up close the methodical and collaborative work that is done by all of Israel's security agencies to thwart, prevent and enforce the law against those who wish to harm us both at home and abroad."

Atia said it was not the first time Israeli Arabs from Nazareth have been implicated in terrorism, adding that the village of Ghajar is Israel's weak spot in the north. The majority of Israeli Arabs have absolutely no interest in collaborating with Hezbollah, and the collaborators are a small minority, a Shin Bet official said. The fact that Hezbollah has to make use of drug smuggling networks is a sign of its weakness, the official added. 

CBS NEWS: Inside Israel's super-secret intelligence agency

This article is adapted from "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel's Secret Wars" (Levant Books), a new book detailing the history of the Israeli intelligence community by CBS News national correspondent Dan Raviv and Israeli journalist Yossi Melman.

As tensions continue to mount between Iran and Israel, Dan Raviv and Yossi Melman offer detailed reporting on how Israel's intelligence agency operates inside Iran.   

There've been more than a few reports suggesting that Israel's foreign intelligence agency - the Mossad - hires Iranian dissidents to carry out sabotage and assassinations inside Iran.

But a study of fifty years of assassinations by the Mossad - including conversations with current and former operatives and those who work with them in countries friendly to Israel - yields the conclusion that the assassins inside Iran are Israelis.

The Mossad has a special operations unit - a kind of Mossad within the Mossad - called Kidon (the Hebrew word for bayonet), which has over the years developed unique methods for infiltrating enemy countries, and for murdering Israel's enemies without leaving a trace.

The Mossad benefits from unmatched linguistic capabilities, in part because Israel has many citizens whose families moved from Arabic- or Persian-speaking countries. Israeli operatives have traveled into Iran using the passports of other countries, including bogus documents produced by skilled Mossad forgers, and genuine passports where the photographs might be altered slightly.

Insight into the psyches and behavior of members of the super-secret Kidon squad can be found - perhaps surprisingly - in the pages of a novel called "Duet in Beirut," published only in Hebrew (in 2002), by Mishka Ben-David, a former intelligence officer in the Mossad's operations department, which runs and coordinates Kidon.

From the book and other sources it is understood that Kidon is so compartmentalized that its office is not inside the Mossad headquarters. Kidon combatants - who dubbed themselves "The Team" - hardly ever go there. Even when interacting with Mossad operatives from other units, Kidon men use assumed names. In the field, members use a third name - and sometimes even fourth and fifth identities.

Their training includes almost anything one might imagine is needed for an intelligence operation: surveillance, shaking off surveillance, studying objects and memorizing everything about them. They become proficient at remembering codes and securely communicating during missions without raising suspicion.

Because they are the cream of the crop, Kidon men and women are the ones the Mossad director selects for very dangerous missions - including complex operations of an information-gathering nature - that require top professionals.

Despite tactical successes in Iran in recent years, the Mossad and its top political master, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, know that the entire Iranian nuclear weapons program will not be demolished by assassinations of nuclear scientists and military officers.

Yet, any delay in Iran's nuclear work represents an achievement. Israeli strategic thinking (exercised in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere) holds that temporary disruptions to an enemy's dangerous projects are sufficient cause for taking significant risks.

Ex-Mossad chief Meir Dagan.

 (Credit: CBS News)

Meir Dagan, Mossad director from 2002 to 2010, was pleased by past missions in Iran and the "cleanliness" of their execution: no clues, no fingerprints, not even motorcycles left behind. Iranian authorities could only guess who was attacking, in broad daylight, in their capital.

But the intimidating impact that Dagan aimed to create in Iran seems to be exhausted. This is reportedly apparent to Tamir Pardo, the new head of the Mossad, who has a reputation for knowing that one should not push one's luck. Iran is becoming more dangerous for Mossad and other foreign intelligence operatives. One can expect a halt, at least temporarily, of the assassination campaign.

Dagan, in retirement, has become outspoken in his opposition to a military strike by Israel against Iran. When he spoke to Lesley Stahl on CBS's "60 Minutes" in March, Dagan warned that retaliation by Iran and its proxies could be highly damaging to normal life in the Jewish state. Dagan also believes that an attack by Israel would unite most Iranians around their regime and would give Iran's scientists and engineers a major reason to speed up their underground nuclear work.

His private advice boils down to pointing out that there is still plenty of disruption to be accomplished within Iran by sabotage, assassinations, and a truly innovative weapon - cyberwarfare. The worm called Stuxnet that took over Iranian nuclear lab computers was a product of Israeli and U.S. intelligence agencies working together; and it was not the only computer virus created by the highly skilled programmers in both nations.

While Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak seem skeptical that international economic sanctions will persuade Iran to cancel its nuclear bomb program, Dagan and other former and current intelligence officials believe that sanctions are biting and could be a major factor in the ayatollahs' thinking.

Only last week, most of Europe stopped purchasing Iranian oil. Tension in the Middle East is likely to rise, and predicting when - or how - the crisis over Iran may be resolved is truly impossible. There is a high likelihood, however, that the Mossad - and its even more secretive Kidon unit - will somehow be involved.

Israel: A Strategic Asset for the United States

Robert D. Blackwill and Walter B. Slocombe explore the important contributions Israel makes to U.S. national interests, from intelligence to conventional security to cyberdefense, during this Policy Forum at The Washington Institute.


Americans traditionally support close ties with Israel for historical and moral reasons, but two leading foreign policy experts say that another compelling rationale is too often overlooked: the important contributions Israel makes to U.S. national interests.

"Shared values and moral responsibility remain unshakable foundations of U.S.-Israel relations," argue Robert D. Blackwill and Walter B. Slocombe in their new report, Israel: A Strategic Asset for the United States. "But the relationship stands equally on an underappreciated third leg: common national interests and collaborative action to advance those interests."

The authors enumerate specific important contributions Israel makes to U.S. national interests, ranging from intelligence sharing and counterterrorism cooperation to joint efforts in missile defense and unmanned aerial vehicles. Noting certain unique competencies of Israel's defense industry, they underscore the growing importance to the U.S. military of purchases of Israeli defense goods and, looking to the future, cite Israel's world-class expertise in cyberdefense and national resilience planning as advantages that will increasingly redound to the benefit of the United States.

Blackwill and Slocombe urge senior U.S. officials to deepen cooperation with Israel in order to maximize the strategic benefits America can derive from this relationship, noting that any costs are markedly outweighed by the many ways Israeli actions bolster U.S. national interests. 

LAT: Israel: A true ally in the Middle East Israeli contributions to U.S. national interests, underappreciated by many, include enhanced counter-terrorism, intelligence and technology useful in urban warfare.

American leaders have traditionally explained the foundations of the U.S.-Israel relationship by citing shared democratic values and the moral responsibility America bears to protect the small nation-state of the Jewish people. Although accurate and essential, this characterization is incomplete because it fails to capture a third, crucial aspect: the many ways in which Israel advances U.S. national interests.

Today, Israeli contributions to U.S. national interests cover a broad spectrum. Through joint training, exercises and exchanges on military doctrine, the United States has benefited in the areas of counter-terrorism, intelligence and experience in urban warfare. Increasingly, U.S. homeland security and military agencies are turning to Israeli technology to solve some of their most vexing technical and strategic problems.

This support includes advice and expertise on behavioral screening techniques for airport security and acquisition of an Israeli-produced tactical radar system to enhance force protection. Israel has been a world leader in the development of unmanned aerial systems, both for intelligence collection and combat, and it has shared with the U.S. military the technology, the doctrine and its experience regarding these systems. Israel is also a global pacesetter in armored vehicle protection, defense against short-range rockets, and the techniques and procedures of robotics, all of which it has shared with the United States.

In missile defense, the United States has a broad and multifaceted partnership with Israel. Israel's national missile defenses — which include the U.S. deployment in Israel of an advanced X-band radar system and the more than 100 American military personnel who man it — will be an integral part of a larger missile defense spanning Europe, the eastern Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf to help protect U.S. forces and allies.

Israeli-developed defense equipment, some of which benefited from generous U.S. aid, now used by the U.S. military include short-range unmanned aircraft systems that have seen service in Iraq and Afghanistan; targeting pods on hundreds of Air Force, Navy and Marine strike aircraft; a revolutionary helmet-mounted sight that is standard in nearly all frontline Air Force and Navy fighter aircraft; lifesaving armor installed in thousands of MRAP armored vehicles used in Iraq and Afghanistan; and a gun system for close-in defense of naval vessels against terrorist dinghies and small-boat swarms. Moreover, U.S. and Israeli companies are working together to produce Israel's Iron Dome — the world's first combat-proven counter-rocket system.

Counter-terrorism and intelligence cooperation is deep and extensive, with the United States and Israel working to advance their common interest in defeating the terrorism of Hamas, Hezbollah and Al Qaeda and its affiliate groups, and preventing nuclear proliferation in the region. There are joint Special Forces training and exercises and collaboration on shared targets.

This intimate relationship reinforces overall U.S. intelligence efforts by providing Washington with access to Israel's unique set of capabilities for information collection and assessments on key countries and issues in the region. Such was the case, for example, when Israel passed to the United States conclusive photographic evidence in 2007 that Syria, with North Korean assistance, had made enormous strides toward "going hot" with a plutonium-producing reactor.

On important issues, the two nations do sometimes differ, a phenomenon not unique to the U.S.-Israel relationship. Over the decades, there have been periodic policy flare-ups, some even bitter, on topics ranging from Israel's preventive action against Iraq's nuclear reactor to Israeli sales of weaponry and military technology to China. Some of the most contentious disputes have been about actions affecting the Middle East peace process. But more often have been instances of U.S.-Israel collaboration — most important, the Arab-Israel peace treaties that are the anchor of American national interests in the Middle East.

We do not deny that there are costs to the United States, in the Arab world and elsewhere, for its support of Israel, as there are costs to U.S. support of other beleaguered — and sometime imperfect — friends, including West Berlin in the Cold War, Kuwait in 1990-91 and Taiwan today.

But the long-standing U.S. commitment to Israel has not prevented development of close ties with Arab nations, which understand — however much they disagree with U.S. support for Israel — that they benefit from a good relationship with the United States on other issues. Nor has it made the Arab oil-exporting states any less conscious of their own economic and strategic interest in a reasonably stable flow of oil to world markets, or their eagerness to buy first-class military equipment from the United States or to enjoy the benefits of U.S. protection against Iranian or other aggression.

Would Saudi Arabia's policies toward the United States, for example, be markedly different if Washington entered into a sustained crisis with Israel over the Palestine issue? Would Riyadh lower the price of oil? Would it stop hedging its regional bets concerning U.S. attempts to coerce Iran into freezing its nuclear weapons programs? Would it regard current U.S. policy toward Afghanistan more positively? Would it view American democracy promotion in the Middle East more favorably? Would it be more inclined to reform its internal governmental processes to be more in line with U.S. preferences? No.

In sum, we believe that Israel's substantial contributions to U.S. interests are an underappreciated aspect of this relationship and deserve equal billing to shared values and historical responsibility as rationales for American support of Israel.

Robert D. Blackwill, deputy national security advisor for strategic planning in the George W. Bush administration, and Walter B. Slocombe, undersecretary of defense for policy in the Clinton administration, are authors of the new report "Israel: A Strategic Asset for the United States" (The Washington Institute for Near East Policy).

Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times

Financial Links Uncovered Between Hamas and Gaza Flotilla Organizers

According to Israeli military intelligence, the terrorist organization Hamas and several organizations behind the 2011 Gaza flotilla have similar funding sources. Three Islamic charity funds from the Hamas-affiliated Charity Coalition directly fund Hamas and some of the organizations connected to the 2011 Gaza flotilla (see below list of organizations).

The European Campaign to End the Siege (ECESG)

ECESG, one of the flotilla’s leading organizers, is a UK-based umbrella organization of more than thirty Europe-based organizations; it openly supports Hamas. Most of its organizations — founded as Muslim Brotherhood branches in Europe — are participating in the 2011 Gaza flotilla. Israeli military sources found that some of these umbrella organizations are sponsors of Hamas terror activity in the Gaza Strip.

ECESG Chairman Dr. Arafat Madi Mahmoud Shukri also serves as chairman of the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC). Due to PRC’s flagrant links to Hamas, it was declared illegal in Israel.

Droit Pour Tous and ABSPP

In addition to ECESG, the Switerzland-based Droit Pour Tous organization and the Italy-based group ABSPP are openly and intimately involved in Hamas charity efforts as well as efforts to illegally break the lawfully enforced naval blockade on Gaza.