Leaked US documents allege Mossad encouraged anti-govt protests in Israel

Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, encouraged the agency's staff and Israeli citizens to participate in the anti-government protests that roiled the country in March this year, said a report by The New York Times citing recently leaked Pentagon documents.

According to the leaked documents, an assessment attributed to a Central Intelligence Update from 1 March, leaders of the Mossad "advocated for Mossad officials and Israeli citizens to protest against the new Israeli Government's proposed judicial reforms, including several explicit calls to action that decried the Israeli Government."

The information was obtained through signals intelligence, the leaked document said. Many of the leaked documents are labeled with orders that they are to be shared only among US intelligence agencies.

Israel was paralyzed by protests and strikes in March after the government revealed plans to overhaul the country's judiciary. The proposed reforms, which were criticized by Israel's closest ally, the United States, would have given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right government more control in the selection of judges.

Ultimately, the protesters stalled the proposal's progress and the government said it would shelve the legislation until at least the summer.

Mossad itself has never taken a position on any political or social controversy in Israel. In contrast to the Shin Bet, which deals with domestic security, Mossad works exclusively outside the country.

However, the information included in the leaked documents, however, has some overlap with unsubstantiated accusations promoted by Yair Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister's son. He has claimed that hostile elements inside Israel's intelligence community and the US State Department were behind the protest.