Prisoner X Suspected of Handing Israeli Agents to Hezbollah: Report
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Alleged Mossad agent Ben Zygier, known as Prisoner X before committing suicide while jailed solitary confinement, handed Hezbollah sensitive information that led to the arrest of Lebanese agents in Israel’s service, according to previews of an expose to be released by Der Spiegel on Monday.
The German news weekly alleges that before his death in an isolated Israeli prison cell, Zygier managed to transfer to Hezbollah the names of two Lebanese agents also operating at the Mossad’s behest. The two Lebanese agents, Ziad al-Homsi and Mustafa Ali Awada, were subsequently arrested in May 2009 and sentenced to lengthy prison sentences for espionage.
The article, which cites an internal investigative report obtained by Der Spiegel, brands Zygier as “Israel’s biggest traitor” and describes how the “Zionist turned into a defector.”
According to Der Spiegel, Zyiger was recruited into the Mossad in 2003 and assigned to work with European companies doing business in Iran and Syria. But the Israeli intelligence agency wasn’t pleased with his work, and in 2007 ordered him to return to Israel. Zygier quit the Mossad in 2008 and went home to his native Melbourne, Australia.
For more, go to Haaretz.com
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
