China Is Spying On Israel to Steal U. Benjamin Netanyahu ignored the intelligence operations of Beijing and Moscow for too long. Now, the Israeli government is finally paying attention, but it could be foreign russia late.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks with soldiers as he stands near a naval Iron Dome defense systeminstalled on a Sa’ar 5 Lahav Class corvette of the Israeli Navy fleet, in the northern port of Haifa on Feb. Because of the sensitivity of the issue, no one in the cabinet is prepared to talk about the elephant in the room. Nevertheless, it is clear that the policy review and the report are primarily focused on China. In the past decade, Beijing has increased its economic and military investments and interests in the Middle East, including Israel. The Israeli government ignored China’s behavior for too long, but lately it has begun to pay attention. The National Security Council has to reconcile two contradictory policies, both of which are important to the Israeli economy and its national-security interests. The first is a policy embraced by all government across the political spectrum for decades: encouraging foreign investment, privatization of national assets and utilities, and the expansion of international markets for Israeli goods.
In recent years, like many other exporters, Israeli firms have looked eastward to the growing and developing economies of Asia—and China’s in particular. A recent survey by the Israeli intelligence community that is not in the public domain shows that Chinese investment in the Middle East rose by 1,700 percent between 2012 and 2017. 1 billion, making it Israel’s largest trading partner in Asia and its third-largest trading partner in the world after the European Union and the United States. 77 billion, an increase of 47 percent compared with the same period in 2017. The second policy is to defend national and strategic assets and infrastructure from being controlled and taken over by foreign governments and corporations, even if they are not hostile to Israel.
Because of its high-tech economy, Israel also faces the delicate problem of foreign spying and theft of its advanced technologies and know-how. China has targeted Israel’s two largest arms exporters, Israel Aerospace Industries and the arms manufacturer Rafael, along with the company Elbit Systems. The first two are state-owned corporations, and all three have subsidiaries in the United States that help manufacture Israel’s most advanced weapons, including missiles and avionics. These designs and trade secrets are coveted by intelligence agencies and governments throughout the world. Investigations by Israeli counterintelligence agencies discovered that Chinese hackers were particularly interested in the Israeli companies’ ties with U. The Israeli firms are collaborating with their U. Raytheon, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin in the joint projects, which include F-16 and F-35 warplanes and the Arrow anti-ballistic missile defense systems.
Israel is an international powerhouse when it comes to cyberwarfare, which is of the utmost importance to Moscow and Beijing. If they can steal state-of-the art technologies, it could create havoc in the United States and other Western democracies. It’s no wonder that both countries have large embassies in Tel Aviv, which serve as hubs to advance their interests. Until recently, China was interested in purchasing a chunk of land in the posh neighborhood of Herzliya Pituach for its new embassy. It is located very close to Mossad headquarters and those of the military intelligence agency Unit 8200 at the Glilot Junction, north of Tel Aviv.
In their attempts to penetrate defense installations and steal security-related technologies, Russia and China have faced a fierce, determined, and skillful rival—the Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security service, which specializes in counterintelligence and information protection. But the civilian sector, especially firms producing technologies that can be used for both peaceful and military purposes, is less protected. For many years, consecutive Israeli governments neglected and ignored the security risks posed by China. On the contrary, they encouraged Chinese businessmen to invest in Israel and purchase Israeli assets.
But when it comes to China, the so-called private sector is a fiction. And so over the last 15 years, Chinese companies have invaded Israel. They purchased Tnuva, a household name and the country’s largest producer of dairy products. They won tenders to build roads, light rail lines in Tel Aviv, and the Carmel Tunnels in Haifa.
