[Jerusalem Post] Yaakov Lappin and Khaled Abu Toameh - Former Egyptian ambassador Mohammed Bassiouny took part in espionage activities against Israel during his 18-year-term, Israel's ex-ambassador to Washington Danny Ayalon told the Jerusalem Post on Thursday. "What is the definition of a spy? Someone who handles agents and receives information that is sensitive. I believe he was involved in that," Ayalon said. Ayalon drew a clear distinction between espionage and "legitimate information-gathering," which took the form of scanning the press and meeting with government and opposition officials and senior military officers, which "all diplomats do." In a speech in Egypt on Saturday, Bassiouny was quoted as saying: "There is no such thing as friendship [with the Israelis]....Besides, I was sent there as an intelligence officer and not because of my character. Do you really think that I worked there as an ambassador?" "The Prime Minister's Office knew he dealt in intelligence," Ayalon said. Bassiouny was Egypt's military attache in Syria during the Yom Kippur War.
2008-08-15 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive