Israel spies on the United States more than any other ally does and these activities have reached an alarming level, Newsweek magazine reported on Tuesday.
The main targets are US industrial and technical secrets, the weekly said. Newsweek said a congressional staffer familiar with a briefing last January called the testimony "very sobering ... alarming ... even terrifying", and quoted another as saying the behavior was "damaging."
"No other country close to the United States continues to cross the line on espionage like the Israelis do," said a former congressional staffer who attended another classified briefing in late 2013, according to Newsweek. The former congressional staffer said the intelligence agencies did not give specifics, but cited "industrial espionage—folks coming over here on trade missions or with Israeli companies working in collaboration with American companies, [or] intelligence operatives being run directly by the government, which I assume meant out of the [Israeli] Embassy."
Israel's espionage activities in America are unrivaled and go far beyond activities by other close allies, such as Germany, France, Britain and Japan, counter-intelligence agents told members of the House Judiciary and Foreign Affairs committees, Newsweek said.
"I don't think anyone was surprised by these revelations," the former aide was quoted as saying.
"But when you step back and hear ... that there are no other countries taking advantage of our security relationship the way the Israelis are for espionage purposes, it is quite shocking."
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman rejected the allegations. "We're talking about lies and falsehood, simply libel which is baseless and unfounded," he said. Lieberman added Israel was not involved in any form of espionage against the United States, either direct or indirect in nature.
据法新社5月7日援引美国《新闻周刊》消息称，以色列在美国的间谍活动比其它任何盟国都多，而且这些活动已经达到惊人地步。
《新闻周刊》援引机密简报称，以色列在美间谍活动的主要目标为美国的商业和科技机密。
一位熟悉该简报的国会工作人员称这样的行为“十分严重……令人担忧……甚是震惊”，另外一人则称之“危害严重”。
曾于2013年底参加闭门会议的前国会工作人员称,“没有任何一个与美国关系密切的国家像以色列这样如此过分地进行间谍活动。”
据这位工作人员介绍，情报部门没有透露细节，但称“有的商业间谍跟随着与美国有合作的以色列公司而来，有的是直接由政府管理的情报人员，我觉得他们来自以色列大使馆。”
反情报机构向国会司法与外交事务委员会报告称，以色列在美国的间谍活动十分猖獗，远远超过德国、法国、英国、日本等其它美国盟友。
“我不认为大家会对这一消息感到惊讶，”这位前国会工作人员说，“但当你退一步想一下……没有其它任何一个国家像以色列这样利用与美国的安全关系用于间谍活动，这是十分令人震惊的。”
对此，以色列外交部长阿维格多·利伯曼矢口否认，“这完全是缺乏事实根据的谎言与诽谤。”利伯曼还称，以色列从未在美国开展任何直接或间接的间谍活动。
