Israel Reportedly Intercepted Some of John Kerry's Peace Talk Calls
According to a new report in German newspaper Der Spiegel, Israeli officials intercepted phone calls made by Secretary of State John Kerry during peace talks between Israel, Palestine, and Arab states last year. Israel reportedly used information gleaned from the calls to better position themselves in negotiations.
Der Spiegel also reports that "at least one other intelligence service" also intercepted Kerry's calls, but did not name which. From the paper's report:
During the peak stage of peace talks last year, Kerry spoke regularly with high-ranking negotiating partners in the Middle East. At the time, some of these calls were not made on encrypted equipment, but instead on normal telephones, with the conversations transmitted by satellite. Intelligence agencies intercepted some of those calls. The government in Jerusalem then used the information obtained in international negotiations aiming to reach a diplomatic solution in the Middle East.
Kerry's relationship with Israel is already tense—the supposed revelation comes just days after a failed cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
