02142013
Mossad gets their man: Australian Prisoner X commits ‘suicide’ in Israeli prison
Threatening an all out diplomatic storm between Australia and Israel, the
details surrounding the death in 2010 in a prison in Israel of the now famous,
Prisoner X are just now starting to come out, sending the Israeli Government
into panic mode and even causing them to ban the reporting of information about
the case.
He died on December 12, 2010 in solitary confinement in a top-security cell of
the Ayalon Prison prison in the same cell which had previously held and been
designed for Yigal Amir the assassin of Yitzhak Rabin. Dual Israeli-Australian
Ben Zygier, also known by his Israeli name of Ben Alon, reportedly committed
suicide by hanging himself on Dec. 15, 2010 at the age of 34.
Although the death occurred over two years ago details about the case are just
now coming to light as the veil of secrecy has been partially lifted amid a
growing diplomatic storm between Israel and Australia. Up until now the man was
only known as “Prisoner X”, whose identity was vigorously guarded.
One of the facts that have recently emerged is that Prisoner X was an Australian
citizen working for Mossad, the Israeli Secret Intelligence Service, although in
what exact capacity has not been reported.
Another fact that has come to light is that he was already under surveillance by
the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) who was investigating
him on suspicion of espionage and for being one of three citizens reported to
have been using Australian passports to fulfill missions for Mossad.
According to various media reports Mr Alon was also known by the name of Ben
Allen, among others, and had changed his name four times in just as many years,
which initially caught the attention of the ASIO.
According to the Guardian under Australian law citizens can change their name
every year and Mr. Alon did so at least four times. This would have allowed him
to put together several sets of documents, including Australian passports, which
may have been used by Mossad, either as cover for Alon “X”, or passed along to
other operatives.
The publication The Age reported that Ben Zygier had held or applied for
Australian passports using the names Ben Alon, Ben Allen and Benjamin Burrows.
The case is particularly embarrassing for Mossad because it exposes one of the
ways that they produce or obtain false identities for their operatives. This is
not the first time that Australian passports have been linked to Mossad
operations, nor is it the first time they have bungled operations or been
exposed using foreign passports as cover for their agents.
According to media reports and other sources the assassination in January 2010
of Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai was the responsibility of MOSSAD.
At the time Israel received strong condemnation from Australia and Britain
because apparently Mossad had use passports from their countries to carry out
the hit.
There are not many details that have emerged about what Alon was really doing
for Mossad, or even if he was in fact an agent, but what has is potentially
damaging for Israel and the Israeli intelligence service if one is to judge by
the official reaction. The potential fallout is apparently so great that Israel
has effectively issued a complete bans on publishing details about the case.
After calling an emergency meeting between the editors and owners of major
Israeli media outlets and Israeli security officials the government instructed
them not to publish any new material or details on the case, however according
to RT Israeli media are still allowed to cite reports from foreign sources.
There is speculation that Alon was providing passports for Mossad, however this
is unlikely due to his military service for Israel and the way he was imprisoned
and mysteriously committed suicide, in a cell with cameras and sensors which
monitored heart rate and the physical condition of the prisoner.
Another clue as to the seriousness of the operations that Alon may have been
involved with along with the mysterious other tow Australians was reported by
Haartz, which quotes one Tzvika Levy, who heads the Lone Soldier Project:
“Suddenly I made the connection, and realized that Ben Zygier arrived to Kibbutz
Gazit as a lone soldier about 13 years ago, along with two other young men from
Australia. I remember his friends went to serve in the Armored Corps, and he
wanted me to help him get into the paratroopers. He served for two and a half
years, even though his age required him to serve only six months. For that, he
had to sign a form, agreeing to lengthen his service."
So who were the other two Australians? Why did Alon enlist for extended service?
And why was it that he died in an Israeli prison without the proper Australian
authorities being informed? There is speculation that he was a double or triple
agent, and that his end was the obvious one for anyone playing both sides of the
fence.
If he was working for the Australians as well as Mossad, his death is perfectly in keeping with what a former intelligence officer once told me, “Mossad always gets their man”, even if he is one of their own.