INTELLIGENCE AGENT MISLED ISRAEL ABOUT SYRIA'S INTENTIONS

ISRAEL LINE
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1997

  An Israeli intelligence agent supplied Israel's intelligence services with
false information regarding Syria, YEDIOT AHARONOT reported.  Last year, the
source provided false intelligence which indicated that Syria was planning
an imminent attack on Israel.
  As a result, Israel was wary of Syria's peace overtures.  However, the
intelligence community only attached moderate importance to the claim
because it did not corroborate with intelligence gathered from other sources.
  The newspaper listed three possible explanations for the agent's behavior
- the agent may have held extreme right-wing political views, may have been
motivated by monetary considerations or may have been trying to impress his
supervisors.
  A Government official praised Mossad Director Danny Yatom on Thursday for
his courage in publicizing this sensitive information.




ISRAEL LINE