Foreign Ministry denies Israeli connection to spy network in Egypt

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has insisted that it had no knowledge of the spy network which has been broken in Cairo. In a brief statement published in Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth the ministry said that it rejects allegations made to the contrary but is following developments in this matter to ascertain the circumstances and background.

The statement was issued after Egypt’s Supreme State Security Prosecution, headed by Attorney General Judge Hisham El-Qarmouti, ordered the case against nine defendants to be referred to the Ismailia Criminal Court; all are charged with spying for Israel. Four of the suspects are alleged to be members of Israel’s intelligence agency, the Mossad. They were named in court as Danni Ovadia, Aharon Danon, David Yakov and Shlomo Sofer. The other two suspects are Israeli Arabs Abdullah Salim Ibrahim al-Rakiba and Omar Harb Abu Jarad; they are said to be residents of the Afikim area of Bathsheba in Israel. The other three suspects are all Egyptians from Rafah.