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Ronen Zvulun / Reuters
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has restricted reporting in Israel on the case, which is overshadowing his victory in a national election held last month.
JERUSALEM - Israeli lawmakers announced plans on Sunday to investigate the 2010 jailhouse death of a reported Australian immigrant recruit to the Mossad spy agency.
The statement by Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee followed calls by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a cabinet meeting to dim a growing media spotlight on the affair he saw as at risk of jeopardizing national security.
The case kept under wraps for two years then publicized by Australian television last Tuesday involves a 34-year-old immigrant, Ben Zygier, said to be a Mossad operative held on suspicion of security offences, who died of what has been labeled an apparent suicide behind bars.
In a terse communique, the legislative panel's subcommittee on intelligence said it has "decided to conduct an intensive examination of all aspects of the incident involving the prisoner found dead in his (prison) cell in December 2010."
While unlikely to have any immediate political consequences the investigation may lead to a wider inquiry with potentially broader repercussions.
Netanyahu's government has restricted reporting in Israel on the case, now overshadowing his victory in a national election held last month, using court gag orders, military censorship and direct requests to news editors.
Such steps have done little to douse demands for the authorities to come clean about the circumstances of Zygier's imprisonment and how he was able to kill himself in a highly-supervised isolation cell.
Without citing the case specifically, Netanyahu said on Sunday he "absolutely trusts" Israel's security services and what he described as the independent legal monitoring system under which they operated.
"We are an exemplary democracy," Netanyahu said in remarks aired by Israeli broadcasters.
"But we are also more threatened, more challenged, and therefore we have to ensure the proper operation of our security branches," Netanyahu also said.
"Therefore I ask over everyone: Let the security services continue working quietly so that we can continue to live in safety and tranquility in the State of Israel."
The few Israeli officials who have spoken of Zygier's case have not denied that he was linked to Mossad, which in early 2010 was accused by Dubai of using Australian passport-holders to assassinate a Palestinian arms procurer in the Gulf emirate.
Media reports have speculated that Israel suspected the Melbourne-born Jew of betraying or threatening to divulge Mossad missions, perhaps to Australia's security services, as they probed passport fraud.
Civil liberties groups and some Israeli lawmakers have demanded to know whether Zygier's rights were violated by his months of incarceration under alias.
'Grave charges'
In an apparent reversal from previous statements, Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said on Thursday his ministry had known about Zygier's jailing as early as February 2010. On Wednesday he said Australian diplomats in Israel only found out about the detention after his death in custody later that year.
Avigdor Feldman, an Israeli lawyer with whom Zygier consulted in Ayalon prison, said last week that that meeting was arranged by a "Mossad liaison" and that his client had denied "grave charges" for which he awaited trial.
Feldman also said that Zygier's family, which has declined all comment on the affair, knew about his detention. The incarceration was approved by several Israeli courts.
Two senior cabinet members, Intelligence Minister Dan Meridor and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon, told Israeli media on Saturday the case was rare but lawful.
"There are extreme situations...to do with our security and even the need to preserve human life, when we need to take an extreme step such as this," Yaalon told Channel Two television.
Meridor said that publishing the prisoner's identity would have risked "serious harm to security." He did not elaborate.
Tzachi Hanegbi, a lawmaker from Netanyahu's conservative Likud party said he had never been informed of Zygier's arrest as chairman of the parliamentary defence panel at the time.
"This requires explanation," Hanegbi said. "Usually, every significant subject, whether it is impressive achievements or embarrassing failures, is laid out before the subcommittee."
Former Mossad director Danny Yatom told Reuters the agency was under no legal obligation to brief oversight lawmakers in such circumstances.
Related:
Controversy erupts on two continents over Israel's 'Prisoner X'
Israel confirms jailing mystery foreigner
This story was originally published on Sun Feb 17, 2013 8:30 PM EST
Leave a Comment:
Try CIA, the British or the former (still existing) KGB, the nazis or any spy agency around the world for that matter...... their business is to spy, and conduct their affairs in secret. Israeli Mossad is not an exception and their left-leaning members should not pressure their government to "investigate" a secret spy case, supposedly a double agent who was about to reveal the names of other field agents. Moscow would have gotten rid of such an agent (as they did in London) in a heartbeat. These NBC articles do not serve anyone, except providing a window for the radical groups (left or right) to unleash their hatred.
Farideh kashamian - you sound like an Iranian Jew who just left Iran for Israel - Lol!
"Israeli lawmakers announced plans on Sunday to investigate the 2010 jailhouse death of a reported Australian immigrant recruit to the Mossad spy agency."
Mossad is a spy agency.
Those double crossing are punished by different ways!
What is the big deal about the death of one recruit?
Yes, Mossad should have the right to kill whoever they want, wherever they want... LOL! you are so brainwashed, dude... they are not above the law, nobody should be above the law.
Tell that to CIA, for example.
Oh really? Israel is going to investigate a murder? What a joke! Who trusts Israel with anything when their kanagru court has no credibility and their supreme court support murder and occupation of illegegal lands...
Oh horror!
Israeli court actually works in Israeli interests and not in the interests of Hamas or Hezbollah.
Unbearable.
In the past jewish murder squads are known to have traveled on Canadian and Irish passports. It was often assumed that these passports were forged. If this case reveals a pattern, it may be that the jewish assassins are citizens of the countries whose passports they carry.
A/noon Bob. No they were not Australian, they were Mossad agents as seen here on TV footage last year that did the execution in Dubai...All very well planned and executed, had Mossad stamped all over it. We are not in the habit of bumping off other people, be they spies, terrorists or anyone else here or around the world. As for our spy mob ASIO you are pretty safe there...overseas spies would know more about what goes on here in Australia than they do. At the end of the day play with high stakes and the cost can also be high. Your life! Yes I do feel for this mans family. But it has not raised much of a ripple here at all other than the Gillard Government now try to get some mileage out of it. Why because we are having an election in Sept and they think they had better "do something". To be honest the average Aussie would not give a stuff about something that happened 2 years ago in an Israeli cell. My opinion for what it is worth, he was a perceived threat and Mossad does not stuff around, full stop. And yes they were travelling on forged Australian passports.
Never trust israel zionist government.
Never trust a Muslim zealot government.
You do that.
That's such bull excrement.
Israel is surrounded by some of the most rabid seventh century desert mindset one-way traffic Islamists.
To survive they have to be smart.
Mossad, their spy agency, does a lot to protect Israel's interest.
What is wrong in what Mossad does?
Why don't the people have guts to question what the oil rich ME Sunni rulers of House of Saud, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar and other Sunni Arab League nations and their agents/lobbyists do?
World has different standards for bigoted Sunni House of Saud and co and others!
Can you believe: in 21st century House of Saud has a strict Wahhabi ruler with 5000 princes and princesses and with big harems of girls and women assembled from all over the world?
Your last name isn't Pollard? If so, when were you released from a Federal prison for spying on the U.S. of A for Israel.
MCR,
When were you released from prison for assisting Al Quaida?
Personal attack reflects the low morality of the poster.
Stick to the issue and debate rationally instead of initiating personal attack or name calling which are the actions adopted by bigots.
I TOTALLY agree.
We should learn the zionist pioneered tactic of first attacking the messenger PERSONALLY .
While attacking, that zionist poster will get as many other zionists they can reliably call on to back them up and GANG up on the original poster.
If the original poster stands up for themselves and reply, the zionist bunch will attempt to completely change the subject by talking about football or the weather or even apples for that matter. That tactic is called ignore and marginalize.
Sheesh ... I am ALWAYS amazed to see these morons who pop up out of nowhere and attack a poster (usually with an idea or concept). These low life attackers NEVER contribute positively to the conversation and almost always end up spooking innocents.
Don't fall for em folks. They are just little whiny yapping dogs at your feet. (That's an insult to little dogs I'm sorry to say. I own a little white one).
You might see an example of that right here. Let's go you zionist trogladites, attack why don't you ....
You guys realize that it's your fellow anti-Israel poster who made the first personal attack here?
You want to stick to the subject, fine by me.
We still don't know what the deal was with that Zygier fellow.
may be he really killed himself, or may be he really was killed. May be he just knew too much, or may be he was a dangerous double agent. We simply don't know.
However, some here are already trying to paint him as a some kind of saint martyr, simply because that's an excuse to pin something on Israel. That's how desperate anti-Israel crowd gets for material.
Isreal sounds just like another Democratic country, yup they are just like the U.S. And people wonder why we are looked upon the same way the Jews are in the middle east. We start wars over there and Isreal continues to alienate their neighbors. I see both Isreal and their neighbors and there is not much difference. Change the religion and the countries are the same.
So, who is it that is different?
One positive role model please.
Lats se how Israeli probe works:
Rachel Corrie killed: Explanataion: Bulldozer did not have to stop...
Attack palestinans in 2008, massacre 1500 mostly women and children: Expalnation: Well guerillas hide behind women and children so all are fair game..
Attack Gaza aid ship and kill 9 aid workers: Explanation: Well , Gaza does not need any help, therefore the aid cannot exist..
So, these koshers have a pretty good democtratic system and an explanation(BS) for everything...
It will be 2020 and all israelis connected to the case will be found not guilty....
But you don't need any investigations, you already know that they are guilty, right?
After all, in your book it's OK for Hamas terrorists to hide behind women and children, and Israelis should just let them keep shooting rockets and kill their women and children.
It's OK for "aid workers" to pound Israeli soldiers upside the head with lead pipes, and the soldiers should just get pounded quietly, right?
Well, if you and yours choose to judge Israel this way, they wont give a damn about you and yours either.
man you are soooooooooooo clearly a jew and an israeli supporter .... You just can't wait to hurl insults at Palestinians and Hamas with every thing you write ya naturally angry jew bastard ya.
Ok go change names cause we got you now :-)
Yes, I am Jewish and supporter of Israel.
Why would I need to change my name?
"Eli" is short for "Elijah", that's the name of a Jewish prophet whom you should be able to find in the Bible, consequently this name is common among Jews.
I was not hurling insults on Palestinians, but on Hamas - sure.
I do however find it difficult that an American or anyone with an Anglo-Saxon name like Conrad would care if anyone is insulting Hamas (Palestinians - sure, but Hamas - highly unlikely).
So, perhaps it's you who needs to change your name, Conrad.
The Bourne saga all over again. Recruit some guy, have him do the illegal dirty work for your black ops, then punish him for it. No sentence, forbidden by the press to question it, wont even say who he is. What a farce. governments use and discarding of people under the guise of patriotism is vomit inducing
You really must be kidding, do you really think people are that stupid
Ha ha ha ha ha ha this article cracks me up. It should be used as a direct example of spin by any journalism school Every lie in the book was used here ... Along, the way, some additional exploitative insults were hurled at Hamas and the Palestinians.
When will the world understand just how sneaky and lying these israelis in general are? Every single one of their leaders from sharon to olmert to lieberman were implicated and convicted of public fraud and thievery. Their ex president was convicted of rape for gods sakes. Ehud barak personally shot the sign of the christian cross into Kamal Nasser 's body in Beirut in 1973.
What does that say about what it takes to be an israeli politician?
How the hell does this ENTIRE gang of thieves and murderers formulate a government? Every single one of their leaders was a terrorist that KILLED brittish soldiers in the forties. Research the King David Hotel
Jeeze these people are disgusting human beings and we would be soooooo much better off if we figured out how to cut em off and stop letting them bleed our tax base by funneling BILLIONS to israel every year.
C'mon folks. Lets figure this out!
Once again, the treachery of The Jew knows no bounds. Soon when the glory of the Fatherland returns, all the Zionist dogs and anyone who helped them will be wiped from the face of the Earth. They will weep bitter tears until the last jew is gone forever. One race, a pure race, will rule all the Earth until the End of Days.
You are late to the party.
Your side has already lost WWII.
Wider inquiry means it will take 10 years to acquit instead of 5 years; Bottmline; Bull manure..
The sad thing is these types of news/events cause uproar, protests in any country but Israel.
I mean look at them, everybody acts like nothing happened. I mean I admire the "bond" between israeli jews, but this is too much..
Aren't there one, two congressmen in knessit to get up and ask a question? Are they blind, deaf, dumb?
Bibi Netanyahu and Mossad know exactly who he is. And they're going to investigate themselves. Ridiculous.