Pretoria - America’s CIA issued a “desperate” plea to South African intelligence agencies to help them make contact with Hamas, while agents of the British spy agency MI6 asked South Africa for help in recruiting a North Korean spy.
These are some of the clandestine contacts between South Africa’s State Security Agency (SSA) and foreign counterparts, revealed in the hundreds of secret “Spy Cables” leaked to Al Jazeera which began publishing them on Monday.
“A CIA agent “desperate” to make contact with Hamas in Gaza pleaded for help from a South African spy in the summer of 2012, according to intelligence files leaked to Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit. The US lists Hamas as a terrorist organisation and, officially at least, has no contact with the group.
“That was just one of the revelations of extensive back-channel politicking involving the US, Israel and the Palestinian Authority as they navigate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict amid a stalled peace process.
“Classified South African documents obtained by Al Jazeera also reveal an approach by Israel’s then-secret service chief, Meir Dagan, seeking Pretoria’s help in its efforts to scupper a landmark UN-authorised probe into alleged war crimes in Gaza, which was headed by South African judge Richard Goldstone.
“Dagan explained that his effort to squelch the Goldstone report had strong support from Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas,” Al Jazeera said – apparently because Abbas felt the Goldstone report could help his Palestinian political rival Hamas.
This revelation could be embarrassing to Abbas who publicly supported the report.
Meanwhile a cable marked “Secret UK/SA eyes only” showed that Britain’s MI6, formally referred to as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), requested assistance from the SSA to carry out “a joint operation” to recruit a North Korean spy.
“We request your support to assist our officer”, the British cable stated, explaining that the MI6 operative would intercept the North Korean while in transit between flights “and encourage him to accept a long-term relationship with SIS”.
The request of the South African service was that it “provide covert surveillance to identify (X) on his arrival” and “securely house him while our officer makes contact”, MI6 wrote.
There are no indications in the Al Jazeera reports about how the SSA responded to these requests for help from the CIA and MI6.
Brian Dube, State Security Agency spokesman, said on Monday that it was too early to comment on the leaks.
“However our legal and policy framework governing management of classified information remains unchanged.”
Asked if this meant the government was trying to prevent publication of the documents, he said it was not.
Independent Foreign Service