Israel conducting surveillance of US and allies at southern command centre: Report
Israel is conducting such extensive surveillance at a new US command centre in southern Israel that US forces and allies have expressed concern, according to a report in The Guardian on Monday.
The Israeli military has been openly and covertly recording meetings and discussions at the Civil-Military Coordination Centre (CMCC) in the town of Kiryat Gat, which is 12 miles from the Gaza frontier, the report says.
The US commander of the CMCC, Lieutenant General Patrick Frank, summoned his Israeli counterpart to tell him that “recording has to stop here”, according to sources briefed on disputes about the recordings.
Staff and visitors from other countries - who were not identified in the report - have also expressed concern about Israel’s intelligence-gathering inside the CMCC.
The Guardian also reported that some staff and visitors were told to avoid sharing sensitive information because of the possibility that it could be recorded and leaked.
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According to the report, the "US military declined to comment when asked about Israeli surveillance activities. The Israeli military declined to comment on Frank’s demand to halt recording and noted that conversations inside the CMCC are unclassified".
However, the Israeli military dismissed claims that it was “gathering intelligence” on its partners as “absurd”. Instead, it said it was documenting meetings through a “transparent and agreed-upon manner”.
US Central Command (Centcom) said the centre was inaugurated on 17 October to mark what it considers to be the main coordination aid hub for Gaza. The CMCC opened at the former site of the now-debunked, controversial aid group, the Gaza Humanitarian Fund.
Centcom Commander Brad Cooper said the centre is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire agreement through an operations room that allows staff to assess developments in Gaza in real time.
Palestinians sidelined
The US deployed natural disaster logistics experts to the CMCC to help boost the flow of aid into the strip, but their work was curtailed by Israel’s restrictions on aid entering the war-torn enclave, so several dozen are said to have left weeks after they arrived, reports say.
However, according to diplomats, discussions that have taken place at the CMCC have helped shift the list of barred or restricted supplies that Israel has allowed into Gaza, including tent poles, chemicals used to purify water, and pencils and paper for schools.
Allies at the CMCC include military planners from the UK and the UAE. Visitors to the CMCC include both diplomats and humanitarian aid workers who have been posted to Israel and the occupied territories.
Palestinians from civilian and humanitarian organisations and the Palestinian Authority have been excluded from discussions at the CMCC.
Attempts to include Palestinians in video calls have been cut off by Israelis, who operate on one floor of the centre while Americans operate on another.
Diplomats and aid workers expressed concern that work conducted at the CMCC excludes Palestinians from being involved in planning discussions for Gaza; does not have an international mandate; could be breaking international law; and mixes military and humanitarian work.
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