Last update - 00:00 13/01/2008
Former MI chief Zeira may face probe for 'leaking agent's name'
By Yossi Melman
The State Prosecutor's Office is considering recommending a criminal investigation against former Military Intelligence chief Eli Zeira, for allegedly leaking the name of Mossad agent Ashraf Marwan, and other state security violations.
According to a team of investigators headed by attorney Bat-Or Kahanovitz of the department of special assignments at the State Attorney's Office, there is evidence proving that Zeira leaked Marwan's name to journalists, authors and historians.
In a statement issued last week, the Justice Ministry said, "The matter is being evaluated by the ministry. At this stage, it is not possible to provide further details."
Marwan's body was found near his London apartment in late June 2007, two weeks after a slander suit Zeira had filed against former Mossad head Zvi Zamir was resolved through arbitration by former Supreme Court justice Theodore Orr.
The State Attorney's Office began investigating Zeira after a complaint was filed four years ago by Zamir and two former officers from the Israel Defense Forces' intelligence section, Brigadier General Amos Gilboa and Colonel Yossi Langotsky. The officers provided the attorney general with documents alleging that Zeira had leaked the name of the Egyptian agent.
In the course of its investigation, officials at the State Attorney's Office questioned Mossad and Military Intelligence officers, and acquired a variety of relevant documents.
Five years ago journalist Shlomo Nakdimon filed a similar complaint against Zeira - but then-attorney general Elyakim Rubinstein decided not to order an investigation against him.
One of the reasons for Rubinstein's decision was opposition by the Mossad, which was concerned that any discussion of the matter could cause a security breach and seriously undermine the principle of preserving the identity of agents.
Kahanovitz and her staff decided a year ago to recommend a police investigation. But Attorney General Menachem Mazuz opted to freeze the procedure until Orr's arbitration was completed.
In June 2007, Orr ruled that Zamir had not slandered Zeira when he accused him of leaking the agent's identity, and concluded that Zeira had indeed leaked the information that Ashraf Marwan had worked as a Mossad agent.
Two weeks later, Marwan was found dead and the police in Britain are continuing their investigation into the incident.
After Marwan's death, Zamir said he had no doubt that Marwan had killed himself because Zeira had leaked the fact that he had served as a Mossad agent prior and during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Marwan was the son-in-law of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. In 1969 he offered his services to the Mossad, and after being turned down the first time, he was eventually recruited. During the months preceding the outbreak of war, he warned his Mossad handlers that a war was imminent.
The Mossad kept in touch with Marwan until 1978, at which point he moved to Europe, turned to business and became quite wealthy.
The Agranat Commission of Inquiry into the intelligence failure in the 1973 war concluded that Zeira had failed as Military Intelligence Chief, and he resigned.
During the 1990s, Zeira began to systematically claim that the head of the Mossad at the time was also responsible for the intelligence failure because Marwan acted as a double agent who gave Israel false information. His claims were rejected by various committees investigating the allegations.