Israel and Afghanistan

AFTER the Gulf war, the Israeli government decided to enlarge its intelligence coverage to countries normally not on the 'hot list' of its intelligence services. Hence the 'Indian conection' (FOREIGN REPORT last week). We can now reveal that the Israelis opened another Asian channel: to the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime and its opponents in Afghanistan. What did the Israelis have in mind?

To counter Iran (perceived by the Israelis to be their deadly enemy) by establishing some sort of base or source of information across its northern border. The chances for success? Slim.

In recent months, the Israelis opened two secret channels of negotiations: the first with the former Afghan government, which now rules over the northern third of Afghanistan, and the second with the Taliban themselves, in Kabul.

Negotiations with the old government were supervised by the director-general of the foreign ministry, Eitan Ben-Tzur, who met a former cabinet minister at an undisclosed place. Other meetings took place in New York. We have also been told that former Afghan officials paid a secret visit to Israel recently. Their aim: to establish diplomatic relations. The problem: they tied this to progress in the Middle East peace process. If there was progress, the Taliban would go ahead with bilateral relations. If not, forget it. These secret talks did however lead to an Israeli gift of money for the victims of the recent earthquake.

More significant are the parallel negotiations between the Israelis and the Taliban, handled on the Israeli side by the Mossad spy service's department for foreign affairs (Tevel) rather than the foreign ministry. The Mossad wants to bring about the departure from Kabul of a fundamentalist Saudi millionaire said by some to be helping anti-Israeli guerrillas, Osama ben Laden. The Mossad is willing to pay a lot.

The big target for the Mossad and the military intelligence service, AMAN, is Iran. Israel is already using Turkey as a route for sending agents into Iran. Israel would increase its penetration if it could use Afghanistan for the same purpose. The Mossad and AMAN dream of being allowed to bring in high-tech monitoring equipment to Afghanistan to eavesdrop on Iran. They would have to share the results. Our prediction: This will remain pie in the sky as long as the peace process is stalled and Iran does not launch a campaign to eradicate the Taliban. If Iran threatened Kabul, however, the Taliban would need friends.

This related story appeared in the Times 19 June 1998

Israel Pursues Afghan Ties To Spy On Tehran

FROM CHRISTOPHER WALKER IN JERUSALEM

ISRAEL has been cultivating secret arms staff executed intelligence contacts with rival Islamic movements in Afghanistan with a view to installing sophisticated spying equipment to monitor Iranian nuclear arms development.

According to senior Western security sources, the pursuit of ties with Afghanistan - with which Israel has no diplomatic relations - and closer military links with Turkey are part of an Israeli plan to launch a pre-emptive strike against Iranian nuclear installations before Tehran gains a nuclear capability.

The Government of Binyamin Netanyahu is worried that a nuclear Iran would tip the balance of power in favour of hardliners across the Middle East. Mossad, the Israeli secret service, estimates that Iran will complete development of the Shahab 3 ballistic missile, capable of hitting Israeli cities, in 18 months and be able to build its first atomic bomb by 2002.

The first hint of the secret Israeli-Afghan contacts came in the latest edition of the British-based newsletter Foreign Report, noted for its intelligence sources. It was confirmed by Israeli officials and

published yesterday in the Tel Aviv press. At the same time, Itim, the Israeli news agency, reported: "Incoming Israeli Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz met on Monday two senior Turkish Army generals as Israel and Turkey moved to tighten their relations."

Maariv, the Tel Aviv daily, quoted Foreign Report as claiming that, as far back as the 1991 Gulf War, Israel had decided to reach out to Islamic countries, including Afghanistan. The paper continued: "The ties

with the large Muslim country will help the establishment of important intelligence bases along the border with Iran. Over the past few months ... Israel opened up two secret channels: the first with the previous Afghan Government [ousted in September l996] ... and the second with the present Taleban regime in Kabul."

Since the recent escalation of the arms race caused by the rival Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests, Israel's attempts to woo the two main opposing centres of Islamic power in Afghanistan have accelerated.

Yediot Aharonot, the mass circulation Tel Aviv daily, quoted Foreign Report - often used as a conduit for leaking Israeli stories abroad and thus circumventing Israel's strict military censorship restrictions - as disclosing: "Israel, which is concerned about the Iranian nuclear race, hopes that its Afghan ties will enable it to install listening devices and advanced spy equipment adjacent to the Iranian border."