The Palestinian official was taken for interrogation in Jerusalem.
Israeli forces on Saturday detained the Palestinian intelligence chief in Jerusalem, according to the official Wafa news agency.
Colonel Jihad al-Faqih was stopped while driving to his work at an Israeli military checkpoint in al-Judeira village in northwestern Jerusalem, Wafa said.
The Palestinian official was taken for interrogation in Jerusalem.
Israeli authorities have yet to comment on the report.
Members of an Egyptian security delegation have met with senior Israeli officials to discuss the situation in blockaded Gaza, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority (IBA) reported Friday.At a Thursday meeting in Israel, the Egyptian delegation -- which includes deputy intelligence chief Ayman Badie -- held talks with Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and senior officials from Israel’s Shabak security agency, according to the IBA.Thursday’s meeting came within the framework of ongoing efforts by Cairo to mediate a truce between Israel and Gaza-based resistance groups.Earlier this week, members of the same delegation met with officials from both Hamas -- which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007 -- and rival Palestinian faction Fatah.Israel has repeatedly threatened to launch a military offensive against Gaza if Palestinians do not stop holding weekly mass demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone.Israel spying industry aids repressive regimes: HaaretzIsrael deploys fresh troops, tanks on Gaza’s outskirts
Egypt delegation meets Israel officials to discuss Gaza
Israel’s espionage industry aids repressive regimes around the world, including some Muslim and Arab states, according to an extensive investigation carried out by Israeli daily Haaretz, findings of which were published Friday. According to the newspaper, the investigation was based on 100 separate sources in 15 countries. “Findings show that Israeli industry has not hesitated to sell offensive capabilities to many countries that lack a strong democratic tradition -- even when they have no way to ascertain whether the items sold were being used to violate the rights of civilians,” Haaretz reported. According to testimony gathered during the investigation, Israeli surveillance equipment has been used to find and detain activists and dissidents in several countries. Israel deploys fresh troops, tanks on Gaza’s outskirtsThe investigation also found that Israeli firms had sold espionage equipment to buyers who were publicly known to be using them for malicious purposes. Israeli companies, the probe found, had sold spying and intelligence-gathering software to more than 25 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Arab world. These countries, according to Haartetz, include Bahrain, Indonesia, Angola, Mozambique, the Dominican Republic, Azerbaijan, Swaziland, Botswana, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Panama and Nicaragua. The newspaper went on to say that the probe had corroborated earlier reports of Israeli sales to Mexico, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, South Sudan, Honduras, Peru, Colombia, Uganda, Nigeria, Ecuador and the United Arab Emirates, among others.US to merge Jerusalem consulate in to new embassyAccording to Haaretz, most of the employees with whom the newspaper spoke declined to have their testimonies appear in the report, mainly because they had signed strict non-disclosure agreements. Those who agreed to discuss their role in the industry, meanwhile, appear in the report under false names.“While some CEOs spoke, others preferred to toe the secrecy line and spout the usual response,” the paper asserted.The Israeli Defense Ministry, for its part, said in a statement: “The Defense Exports Control Agency operates under the aegis of the Supervision Law to safeguard Israel’s strategic interests. The supervision is carried out according to [international] conventions and is applied in the light of international standards.”It added: “The supervision policy is examined frequently in accordance with diverse considerations, including considerations of upholding human rights. The Foreign Ministry, which also attaches great importance to human rights, takes part in the decision-making process.”
Israel spying industry aids repressive regimes: Haaretz
Israel has deployed fresh troops and tanks to the Gaza-Israel buffer zone in anticipation of weekly Friday protests against its 12-year blockade of the Palestinian enclave.The Israeli Broadcasting Authority (IBA) reported Friday that the army had deployed “large numbers in south”, referring to the region of Israel that borders Gaza.“The nature of the Israeli army's response to violence along the fence [i.e., buffer zone] is expected to change with the deployment of armor and engineering and artillery forces around Gaza,” the IBA reported.On Thursday, Israel’s Security Cabinet ordered the military to step up its response to ongoing Palestinian demonstrations -- now in their seventh month -- along the buffer zone.Since the demonstrations began on March 30, more than 200 Palestinians have been martyred near the buffer zone -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire.Protesters demand the right to return to their homes and villages in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.They also demand an end to Israel’s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.Israeli army to step up response to Gaza demonstrationsUN signs agreements with Israeli security firms: ReportIsraeli Knesset rebukes Lieberman over ‘terrorist’ jibePalestinian gov’t condemns Israeli attacks in Gaza
Israel deploys fresh troops, tanks on Gaza’s outskirts
Israel’s Security Cabinet on Thursday ordered the military to step up its response to ongoing Palestinian demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone, according to Israeli media reports.“Starting Friday, the military will intensify its response to airborne firebombs from Gaza and will extend its range of fire during protests along the border,” Israeli daily Haaretz reported.According to the new policy, Palestinian protesters will have to maintain a greater distance from the buffer zone -- otherwise, Israeli troops have been ordered to open fire.“The response to incendiary balloons and kites launched from Gaza will be more forceful,” the paper asserted.According to Haaretz, the Security Cabinet convened for five hours late Wednesday after a number of rockets were fired into Israeli territory from Gaza.Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Education Minister Naftali Bennett have both repeatedly called for a harsher military response to the ongoing rallies along the buffer zone.US to merge Jerusalem consulate in to new embassyMost other members of the Security Cabinet, however, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reportedly want to avoid a broader military operation.Cabinet members were reportedly told not to speak to the media about issues discussed at the meeting.This did not prevent Housing Minister Yoav Galant, however, from making provocative comments to reporters."I am not commenting on the content of the cabinet discussions, but I can say one thing very explicitly: the rules of the game are about to change,” he said.“We will no longer accept the terror along the border fence,” Galant asserted.UN signs agreements with Israeli security firms: ReportIn a related development, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, threatened on Thursday to respond to any Israeli attack on Gaza.On its official website, the Brigades posted a brief video showing a Brigades fighter preparing to fire a salvo of rockets into Israeli territory.Since the rallies along the buffer zone began on March 30, more than 200 Palestinians have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire. Protesters demand the right to return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel. They also demand an end to Israel’s 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.The ongoing Gaza rallies and Palestine’s unsung heroes
Israeli army to step up response to Gaza demonstrations