JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli intelligence reportedly eavesdropped on telephone conversations made by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry during Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
In addition to Israel, at least one other intelligence agency also listened in on the phone calls, the German weekly Der Spiegel reported in an article to appear in its Monday print edition. A summary was posted Sunday to its English-language website.
The article cites unnamed “reliable sources.”
The intelligence agencies reportedly were able to intercept the calls between Kerry and high-ranking negotiators on both sides because they were made on landlines rather than encrypted equipment. The calls came during the height of the peace talks last year.
“Revelations of the eavesdropping could further damage already tense relations between the US government and Israel,” der Spiegel wrote.
The U.S. State Department and Israeli officials declined to comment to Der Spiegel.
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