ENIGMA 2000 Newsletter - Issue 20

January 2004
Articles, newsreports and Items of interest :enigma2000-owner@yahoogroups.com

ENIGMA 2000 article - A little background knowledge and Major General Danny Yattom Retd. takes a call [almost]!

Now onto the E2k article; something a little different for this issue………….

Israel has a total area on 20770 sq km with a land boundary of 1006 km. It is bordered by Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Israel has a parliamentary democracy and gained independence on 14^th May 1948.

The telephone system used in Israel is the most highly developed system in the middle east. It includes digital coaxial and microwave systems along with three submarine cables. These are used for international communications. In addition to these systems Israel has satellite earth stations for Intelsat in service too.

International disputes concerning the Israeli occupation of West Bank, Gaza Strip, troops in Southern Lebanon as well as the Golan Heights. [We will see later one good reason for the Golan Heights occupation to be continued and with an American interest].

It is undisputed that Israel spends more of its Gross National Product on Intelligence than any other Country. Israel expects all its Intelligence agents to have served at least two years in the armed services, although there are some exceptions.

Israel possesses three major intelligence agencies. Shin Bet, which looks after domestic intelligence; Mossad, The Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks, Foreign Intelligence and Lekem, The Bureau of Scientific Relations.

A number of Army and Police covert units, which are code named ‘marauder’ operate in deep cover in the occupied territories. There is also a Special Sections unit, Unit 8200, which is interested in electronic surveillance, code breaking and such like.

Shin Bet, or Shabak, is led by its current director Avi Dichter. Its Arab Affairs Department is concerned with anti-terrorist operations, political subversion and the upkeep of a collated index of apparent Arab terrorists. Units of Shabak have also worked with the Aman [Military Intelligence] against Hamas’ military wing.

The non-Arab Affairs Department is divided into Communist and non-Communist sub-departments. This department is interested in all other countries; their duties including the penetration of Foreign Intelligence and Diplomatic Services and Missions in Israel.

It excels in the questioning of immigrants from Eastern Europe and the old Iron Curtain countries [Messrs.Tony Blair and Jack Straw to note!].

The Protective Security Department is responsible for the protection of Israeli buildings, Embassies, Science Installations, Industrial installations and the national air carrier, El Al.

Shabak monitors the activities of various fringe groups whose activities might not be in the best interest of Israel. It was this level of activity that eventually destroyed the effectiveness of the PLO after 1967, causing its withdrawal to bases in Jordan.

Shabak was renamed the Israel Security Service in 2002.

Aman, the Military Intelligence Group, produces national intelligence forecasts on war, communications intercepts and target studies. Aman is also involved in cross-border agent operations.

Aman has around 7000 employees and has equal status to all the other armed services, viz Army, Airforce and Navy. It is currently led by Major General Aharon Ze’evi.

Its Foreign Relations Department liaises with foreign intelligence services and is responsible for the activities of Israeli Military Attachés abroad.

A unit, the Sayeret Maktal is Israel’s primary counter-terrorism unit and intelligence gathering agency.

Mossad, or more correctly, The Institute for Intelligence and Special Duties is based in Tel Aviv. Its director is General Meir Dagon. It has eight departments of which the Collections Department is the largest. It has the lead responsibility for espionage.

Field officers are in place all around the globe in official [or otherwise unofficial] cover. The Special Operations Division, Metsada, is concerned with covert operations; assassination, sabotage and other operations requiring its specialist skills.

There is also a specialist signals unit, Unit 8200 as previously mentioned. There are listening posts, some in the Israeli occupied, and much contested, Golan Heights. There is also a satellite intercept facility there which compliments the other commercial satellite earth stations.

Whilst the intelligence product from Israel’s Unit 8200 is not officially integrated into the Echelon Network many Israeli personnel work on secondment at the NSA and other Pentagon Departments.

It is no surprise that US intelligence personnel also work alongside Unit 8200 personnel in Israel; some of the equipment undoubtedly of American origin.

A joint Washington based Joint Counter Terrorism Office, with a secure and direct communications link between Israeli intelligence and the emergent US Office of Homeland Security has been suggested [and may now exist]. Are the SIGINT stations the reason for America’s willingness to turn its eyes away from the oft debateable behaviour of Israel when the rest of the world protests its Human Rights record?

Somewhere in the midst of Israel’s intelligence machinery is the number station, designated by ENIGMA as E10. Everyone reading this newsletter will have heard E10. As the never ending posts to ‘Spooks’ prove E10 is a massive operation; we have come to recognise the familiar style of ‘Charlie India Oscar’ and its like, or the pronunciation of NovemBEAR as identifiers of this station.

On Sunday 2^nd November, 2003 and at 1230z an ENIGMA 2000 member was listening to LBC on 97.3MHz when it was announced that Major General Danny Yattom [Head of Mossad 1996 to 1998] was to be interviewed and would be taking questions from listeners. After his introduction and a rather simplistic rhetoric Gen Yattom took a couple of rather mundane calls about the actions of Israel in the Palestine regions, but nothing that really questioned anything ‘intelligence’.

Our member rang the radio station and was prepared to place his question. LBC’s phone was quickly answered and the conversation proceeded something like this:

LBC:	LBC, Can I help?

E2k:	Hello, I have a question for Colonel Yattom.

LBC:	It’s General Yattom.

E2k:	Sorry, my mistake. I intercept messages intended for the use of Israeli agents, possibly working for Mossad.

LBC:	I beg your pardon?

E2k:	I intercept signals destined for Mossad agents.

LBC:	How do you do that?

E2k:	On the Short Wave. If you wish to qualify that with General Yattom tell him I hear FTJ on 4461kHz. That’s one of the stations and its frequency. [Not that he’d probably even know what FTJ was].

LBC:	I’ll pass that on but please don’t mention this if you go to air.

E2k:	I won't be that silly!

LBC:	What’s the question?

E2k:	With the increase in activity by both Palestine and Israel it has been noticed that there has been a rise in coded transmissions in line with this increase. Is there any connection?

LBC:	I’ll definitely put this to General Yattom – that’s really interesting. We’ll phone you back if he wishes to take the question.

E2k:	Thanks.

Our member is still waiting for LBC to return his call [to his unregistered pay as you go mobile]!

Whilst Major General Yattom could have answered the question and denied any connection between Mossad and the ‘spy station’ he didn’t. Was this the ‘ignore it and it’ll go away’ response or was there a real reason that he did not wish to talk to our member; who takes a deep interest in Israeli matters and E10.

Pity he didn’t talk to our member, he was also going to ask where the site of transmission was for the illumination of all you folks who also wonder!