Infiltration of agents into the heart of enemy organizations, clandestine sabotage, targeted assassinations, commando raids... these are just some of the missions carried out by the Israeli secret services, considered the best in the world. But
Infiltration of agents into the heart of enemy organizations, clandestine sabotage, targeted assassinations, commando raids… these are just some of the missions carried out by the Israeli secret services, considered the best in the world. But is this reputation justified? How do they operate? How are their operatives trained? What have been their successes and failures?
The only way for Israel to avoid the dire fate its enemies promise is to anticipate any adverse action. Thus, since its creation, the Jewish state has emphasized intelligence gathering, clandestine operations, and preemptive raids to annihilate any threat.
Intelligence and Middle East specialists Éric Denécé and David Elkaïm provide an understanding of the Israeli intelligence community as a whole: Shin Bet (internal security), Aman (military intelligence), Mossad (foreign intelligence), and other sayerot (IDF special forces). They also scrutinize their organization, the various operations they have undertaken, their relationships with the political world, and their failures.
Many organizations and operations are mentioned here for the first time: Unit 8200's listening and cyber warfare capabilities; informant networks established in Lebanon; the Mossad's "action service"; clandestine raids by special forces in Syria in search of chemical weapons; and above all, the secret war against Iran, in order to sabotage the development of Tehran's nuclear program and prepare for possible air strikes.
