A spy at the home of the Minister of Defense of Israel.. the full story

The arrest of a worker in the home of Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz raised questions about his past, and the reasons for granting him a security permit to work.

The worker, according to preliminary investigations, took the initiative to contact an agent with ties to Iran, and offered to help him in various ways, according to the Shin Bet security service.

In the information that was allowed to be published and received by Al-Ain News, the "Shin Bet" said: "As part of the ongoing operations this month, the General Security Service and the Israeli police arrested Omri Goren, who was working as a cleaning worker in the house of Defense Minister Benny Gantz."

He added: "During the investigation, it was learned that Goren, days before his arrest, used a social network, on his own initiative, to contact a client with ties to Iran and offered to help him in various ways, given his arrival at the minister's house."

The Shin Bet added, "It was learned that the possibility had been raised that this same agent might have passed a malicious program that would give access to the computer used by the minister."

He noted that this possibility was thwarted due to the quick capture of Guren.

According to the Shin Bet, "during the investigation, it also became clear that in order to prove his ability and seriousness, Goren filmed many things in various places around the minister's house and then sent the pictures, including one of the minister's computers, to the aforementioned spy."

The Israeli General Security Service stated: "It should be noted that due to the procedures followed to secure information in the minister's house, Goren never obtained classified materials and such materials were not passed on to the agents with whom he was in contact."

"The investigation was conducted by Defense Minister Gantz," he added.

The "Shin Bet" indicated that "after the investigation was completed, the Public Prosecutor indicted the suspect on charges of espionage in the Lod Central Court."

"The swift counter-operation by the General Security thwarted the defendants' intention, which could have harmed state security," he said.

"The Public Security Service decided to conduct a background check investigation in order to prevent the possibility of such incidents recurring," he added.

The failure of the Israeli General Security Service to verify the background of this factor sparked widespread criticism

Association with (Black Shadow)

In the Shin Bet's preliminary investigations, it became clear that the worker is 37 years old.

The Israeli newspaper "Yediot Aharonot" said that he offered the hacker group "Black Shadow" linked to Iran to implant a spy program on the personal computer of the Israeli Defense Minister in exchange for money.

In recent weeks, the same group had published personal photos of the Israeli Defense Minister, which raised questions about their source.

The newspaper said: "Goren contacted the group after reports in the Israeli media revealed last month that (Black Shadow) attempts to hack the Israeli government and private targets."

She added, "After making contact with a Black Shadow member via Telegram with a false identity, Goren took pictures inside Gantz's home.

Among the items filmed are the Defense Minister's work desk, computers, personal phone and tablet, a box printed with numbers related to the IDF, a router, his "IP" address, and his property tax receipts."

As a result, she noted, "the investigation was conducted by the Shin Bet, the Police Special Investigations Unit, and the Attorney General's Office with the knowledge of Gantz."

"A search of his cell phone yielded results supporting his confession, such as searches he made on the Internet about the time he called Black Shadow, the translation he made from Hebrew to English using Google Translate, and the recovery of photos taken by Gantz on the page," she said. Main".

criminal record

The Israeli newspaper revealed that the accused has "a rich criminal record that includes five convictions and 14 charges between 2002 and 2013, including two bank robberies, robbery, theft, and more. He was also sentenced to four prison terms, the last of which was for burglary for four years."

But his lawyer, Gal Wolf, told the Israel Public Authority for Broadcasting that "the man intended to extract the money without actually being able to carry out any espionage."

miserable failure

Ynet writer Yossi Yehoshua considered that: The fact that a convicted criminal with a long criminal record including bank robbery passed a security clearance check, and worked for a long time in the Defense Minister's house where classified materials and even a red phone are located, is a "miserable failure of the Public Security Agency." .

He pointed out that Omri Goren Gorochovsky worked in the home of the Israeli Defense Minister for two years.

He said, “This person should not even approach a sensitive area like the private home of the Minister of Defense. All workers in such a house, which contains classified materials, a red phone, and closed political and security secrets, are supposed to undergo an initial security check, followed by another security check.” More in-depth, in which the level of classification of the candidate is determined before he takes office.

He added, "Goren was also supposed to be subject to a periodic inspection by the Internal Security Agency, but this was not done. The protection networks were breached."

Yehoshua continued, "Besides the Internal Security Agency, the Minister of Defense also bears a personal responsibility for examining the people in his home. He may, and may even be expected, to ask general questions even if he is not responsible for the security issue."

And he considered that "Goren could have done tremendous damage: to achieve as close as possible, as much as possible, the so-called Iranian official and the defense minister by connecting to a personal computer and a red phone, perhaps by photographing or taking documents."

He said: "The fact that Goren passed the test of the General Security Service despite his great criminal record is fundamental, and it seems that it is easy to blame the matter on a large figure in the service and the agency has taken full responsibility for the incident and is investigating it, but this omission will also require conclusions. Character".