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Дата 14.12.2001 00:55:47
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Fox News: В США под арестом 140 израильскиx агентов

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,40684,00.html
 
 
[The following is a transcript of a Fox News Channel
 
report on Israeli espionage in America and its
 
possible relation to the events of 9/11.]
 
 
 
Carl Cameron Reports
 
 
Wednesday, December 12, 2001
 
 
BRIT HUME, HOST: It has been more than 16 years since
 
a civilian working for the Navy was charged with
 
passing secrets to Israel. Jonathan Pollard pled
 
guilty to conspiracy to commit espionage and is
 
serving a life sentence. At first, Israeli leaders
 
claimed Pollard was part of a rogue operation, but
 
later took responsibility for his work.
 
 
 
Now Fox News has learned some U.S. investigators
 
believe that there are Israelis again very much
 
engaged in spying in and on the U.S., who may have
 
known things they didn't tell us before September 11.
 
Fox News correspondent Carl Cameron has details in the
 
first of a four-part series.
 
 
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
 
 
CARL CAMERON, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Since September
 
11, more than 60 Israelis have been arrested or
 
detained, either under the new patriot anti-terrorism
 
law, or for immigration violations. A handful of
 
active Israeli military were among those detained,
 
according to investigators, who say some of the
 
detainees also failed polygraph questions when asked
 
about alleged surveillance activities against and in
 
the United States.
 
 
There is no indication that the Israelis were involved
 
in the 9-11 attacks, but investigators suspect that
 
they Israelis may have gathered intelligence about the
 
attacks in advance, and not shared it. A highly placed
 
investigator said there are «tie-ins.» But when asked
 
for details, he flatly refused to describe them,
 
saying, "evidence linking these Israelis to 9-11 is
 
classified. I cannot tell you about evidence that has
 
been gathered. It's classified information."
 
 
Fox News has learned that one group of Israelis,
 
spotted in North Carolina recently, is suspected of
 
keeping an apartment in California to spy on a group
 
of Arabs who the United States is also investigating
 
for links to terrorism. Numerous classified documents
 
obtained by Fox News indicate that even prior to
 
September 11, as many as 140 other Israelis had been
 
detained or arrested in a secretive and sprawling
 
investigation into suspected espionage by Israelis in
 
the United States.
 
 
Investigators from numerous government agencies are
 
part of a working group that's been compiling evidence
 
since the mid '90s. These documents detail hundreds of
 
incidents in cities and towns across the country that
 
investigators say, "may well be an organized
 
intelligence gathering activity."
 
 
The first part of the investigation focuses on
 
Israelis who say they are art students from the
 
University of Jerusalem and Bazala Academy. They
 
repeatedly made contact with U.S. government
 
personnel, the report says, by saying they wanted to
 
sell cheap art or handiwork.
 
 
Documents say they, "targeted and penetrated military
 
bases." The DEA, FBI and dozens of government
 
facilities, and even secret offices and unlisted
 
private homes of law enforcement and intelligence
 
personnel. The majority of those questioned, "stated
 
they served in military intelligence, electronic
 
surveillance intercept and or explosive ordinance
 
units."
 
 
Another part of the investigation has resulted in the
 
detention and arrests of dozens of Israelis at
 
American mall kiosks, where they've been selling toys
 
called Puzzle Car and Zoom Copter. Investigators
 
suspect a front.
 
 
Shortly after The New York Times and Washington Post
 
reported the Israeli detentions last months, the carts
 
began vanishing. Zoom Copter's Web page says, "We are
 
aware of the situation caused by thousands of mall
 
carts being closed at the last minute. This in no way
 
reflects the quality of the toy or its salability. The
 
problem lies in the operators' business policies."
 
 
Why would Israelis spy in and on the U.S.? A general
 
accounting office investigation referred to Israel as
 
country A and said, "According to a U.S. intelligence
 
agency, the government of country A conducts the most
 
aggressive espionage operations against the U.S. of
 
any U.S. ally."
 
 
A defense intelligence report said Israel has a
 
voracious appetite for information and said, "the
 
Israelis are motivated by strong survival instincts
 
which dictate every possible facet of their political
 
and economical policies. It aggressively collects
 
military and industrial technology and the U.S. is a
 
high priority target."
 
 
The document concludes: "Israel possesses the
 
resources and technical capability to achieve its
 
collection objectives."
 
 
(END VIDEO CLIP)
 
 
A spokesman for the Israeli embassy here in Washington
 
issued a denial saying that any suggestion that
 
Israelis are spying in or on the U.S. is "simply not
 
true." There are other things to consider. And in the
 
days ahead, we'll take a look at the U.S. phone system
 
and law enforcement's methods for wiretaps. And an
 
investigation that both have been compromised by our
 
friends overseas.
 
 
HUME: Carl, what about this question of advanced
 
knowledge of what was going to happen on 9-11? How
 
clear are investigators that some Israeli agents may
 
have known something?
 
 
CAMERON: It's very explosive information, obviously,
 
and there's a great deal of evidence that they say
 
they have collected — none of it necessarily
 
conclusive. It's more when they put it all together. A
 
bigger question, they say, is how could they not have
 
know? Almost a direct quote.
 
 
HUME: Going into the fact that they were spying on
 
some Arabs, right?
 
 
CAMERON: Correct.
 
 
HUME: All right, Carl, thanks very much.