Questions as Israel intelligence officer dies in detention

Mystery has shrouded the death of an Israeli military intelligence officer in prison three weeks ago after he was accused of committing crimes that harmed the state, local media reported on Monday.

The Israeli military said that “the investigation uncovered suspicions that the officer, who served in a technology unit in the Intelligence Directorate, knowingly took actions that severely harmed state security.”

Haaretz reported the military saying: “The officer cooperated during his investigation and confessed to many of the deeds that were attributed to him.”

Information about the case was revealed after the military scaled back a complete gag order on it, but, according to the Times of Israel, key details about the affair, including the officer’s identity and the exact nature of his alleged crimes, remain barred from publication.

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The Israeli military said, according to the Times of Israel, that the soldier acted alone and did not commit the actions on behalf of a foreign government, for financial reasons or as a result of a specific ideology, but rather for unspecified “personal motivations”.

Meanwhile, Haaretz reported the soldier’s relatives saying: “We are confused, we are frightened and we want real answers.”

“No one has explained to us what happened.”

The soldier was arrested in August. He was found injured in his prison cell on 17 May and died later in hospital.