Tamir Pardo reportedly agreed to brief Zionist Union, but conditioned talk on PM’s approval, which wasn’t forthcoming.
By Barak Ravid
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has forbidden the head of the Mossad to brief Zionist Union Knesset members on the threat posed by ISIS (Islamic State) in the Sinai Peninsula.
Zionist Union faction chairwoman Merav Michaeli, who submitted the request, said Netanyahu claimed such a briefing would set a precedent, and therefore, he didn’t want to approve it.
Michaeli told Haaretz that the faction decided it needed more information about ISIS in light of three recent events: last week’s attack on Egyptian security forces by the organization’s Sinai affiliate, Wilayat Sinai; the group’s rocket fire at southern Israel over the weekend; and the statement by former CIA director David Petraeus that ISIS is currently a bigger threat than Iran.
On Sunday, therefore, she asked Mossad director Tamir Pardo if he would attend Zionist Union’s faction meeting in the Knesset on Monday and brief the MKs on the threat that ISIS’s presence in Sinai poses to Israel. Michaeli said Pardo “agreed gladly,” but stipulated that he needed the prime minister’s approval.
Michaeli then asked a Netanyahu adviser to forward the faction’s request to the prime minister. On Monday morning, the adviser got back to Michaeli and said that Netanyahu wouldn’t permit Pardo to give the briefing.
“The prime minister believes this would set a problematic precedent,” the adviser told her. “Now, every party will seek such briefings from the Mossad director.”
Filed under: war crimes, Warmongers Tagged: Benjamin Netanyahu, CIA, ISIL, ISIS, Israel, mossad, syria
