Israel’s spy agency has been accused of wiretapping telephone conversations by US Secretary of State John Kerry. Spiegel reports the Israeli government used the information they gleaned from Mossad wire taps during negotiations in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.[icopyright one button toolbar]

In addition to the Israelis, at least one other intelligence service also listened in as Kerry mediated last year between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab states, several intelligence service sources told SPIEGEL. Revelations of the eavesdropping could further damage already tense relations between the US government and Israel.

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.

This latest development, if true, will enrage the Obama administration, because it seems as though Benjamin Netanyahu is thumbing his nose at his country’s biggest ally. Not sure what to make of this, but it isn’t the right thing to do. This latest news will probably bring a few laughs, considering the U.S. did the same thing to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and others.

This was cross-posted from The Hinterland Gazette.