Israel reportedly spying on Trump administration:Pentagon on high alert for serious intelligence threat; Israel denies claims as false

Differences between the United States and Israel over Iran appear to be widening. At the same time, concerns have reportedly intensified within the Pentagon that Israel may be attempting to gather sensitive information about senior US officials and the Trump administration through espionage activities. According to an NBC News report, citing two current and one former US official, the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) recently elevated the counter-intelligence threat level associated with Israel to ‘Critical. This is considered the agency’s most serious alert. Such an occurrence between extremely close allies like America and Israel is considered highly extraordinary. However, Israel has completely rejected these allegations. The Israeli embassy states that it does not spy on American officials and its intelligence agencies keep watch on enemies, not allies. Officials do not use phones and computers The increase in counter-intelligence threat level could have the most impact on American officials who travel to Israel or remain in direct contact with Israeli officials. However, the intelligence sharing cooperation between America and Israel will continue for now. An American official told NBC that America already takes special precautions during senior officials’ visits to Israel. American officials avoid using their phones and laptops during this time. Instead, they use temporary mobile phones and separate computers. Many times they also avoid discussing sensitive issues in hotel rooms or such places where there could be a risk of surveillance. The reason for this is that Israeli intelligence agencies are considered quite aggressive in gathering information. However, officials also said that there was no single major incident that caused the threat level to be suddenly raised. Instead, this decision was taken based on several incidents and assessments. Trump had abused Netanyahu on the phone This controversy has emerged at a time when differences between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are growing over Iran. After the ceasefire in April, Trump is trying for a major deal with Iran, while Netanyahu believes that Iran will not comply with any agreement. Meanwhile, reports have emerged of differences between America and Israel regarding military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon. According to reports, there was also a heated phone conversation between Trump and Netanyahu recently. Later, Trump admitted that he had used abusive language towards the Israeli Prime Minister. This further intensified speculation that there are serious differences between the two leaders regarding Middle East strategy. Bitterness seen in US-Israel relations before as well Even though America and Israel are considered very close friends, there has been a long history of distrust and espionage at the intelligence level between the two countries. American security agencies have raised the alert level regarding Israeli espionage activities many times before, and there have been major disputes between the two. 1. Jonathan Pollard Case (1985) Jonathan Pollard worked in America’s Naval Intelligence Agency. In 1985, he was accused of giving several confidential American documents to Israel. Pollard claimed that he wanted to help Israel, but America considered it espionage. During the investigation, he was trying to seek asylum in the Israeli embassy, but he was arrested. In 1987, an American court sentenced him to life imprisonment. This case created tension in the relations between America and Israel. After spending about 30 years in prison, Pollard was released on parole in 2015. In 2020, he moved to Israel, where he was welcomed as a national hero. This case is still counted among the biggest espionage cases in America, in which an American citizen spied for an allied country. This was the first time that America had raised its counter-intelligence vigilance regarding Israel to the highest level. 2. Ben-Ami Kadish Case (2008) Ben-Ami Kadish was a mechanical engineer who had worked for the American army. In 2008, he was accused of having given several confidential American documents to Israel in the 1980s. According to American investigation agencies, these documents contained sensitive information related to missile defense systems, fighter aircraft, and nuclear weapons. It was alleged that Kadish had handed over this information to an Israeli contact. Kadish later accepted one charge and was sentenced in 2009. However, considering his age, he was not sent to jail, but was given punishments like fines and surveillance. 3. Stingray Espionage Controversy (2019) In 2019, a report appeared in American media claiming that suspicious ‘Stingray’ devices were found around the White House and some sensitive areas of Washington. These were working like fake mobile towers, collecting information from nearby mobile phones. Investigation agencies suspected that Israel could be behind these devices and their purpose was to monitor the activities and conversations of President Trump and his close officials. However, the American government never publicly stated that Israel was proven guilty. On the other hand, Israel completely rejected the allegations and said that it does not conduct espionage in America. ​