JERUSALEM – Israel set up scanners to intercept cellphone communications inthe area around the White House in Washington, according to a reportThursday which was denied by the Jewish state.
Politico reported that US officials believe Israelis were most likely theones who set up several so-called stingray scanners, which mimic cellphonetowers to intercept nearby calls and text messages, that were discovered indowntown Washington in 2017.
Several former national security officials told Politico that forensicanalysis by the FBI and other agencies of the devices tied them to Israeliagents.
“The devices were likely intended to spy on President Donald Trump, one ofthe former officials said, as well as his top aides and closest associates– though it’s not clear whether the Israeli efforts were successful,”Politico wrote.
Israel, one of the United states’ closest allies, issued a strong denial.
“Israel does not conduct any espionage missions in the United States,” saidForeign and Intelligence Minister Israel Katz.
“The United States and Israel share between them a great deal ofintelligence information and work together to prevent threats and tostrengthen the security of the two states.”
Stingrays are formally known as international mobile subscriber identity(IMSI) catchers, devices able to monitor and track cellular devicecommunications as they interact with networks.
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They are increasingly used by police in criminal investigations tointercept cellphone activity by suspects, and have become a focus ofcontroversy for their use without warrants.
Two years ago an unknown number of the devices were discovered insideWashington during a Department of Homeland Security test projectinvestigating the risk posed by the devices.
Their discovery included “locations in proximity to potentially sensitivefacilities like the White House,” DHS said in a letter to Senator Ron Wydenin May 2018.
But those responsible for putting them in place were never identified.
They could have been potentially useful at the time in monitoring Trump,who was known to use an unsecured cellphone for phonecalls and textmessages. -APP/AFP
