Israel carried out widespread surveillance on military forces stationed at the new US base in southern Israel, The Guardian reported on Monday, citing sources briefed on the matter.
The Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC) in Kiryat Gat is reportedly under such heavy surveillance that the US commander of the base, Lt.-Gen. Patrick Frank, summoned his Israeli counterpart to insist “recording has to stop here.”
Staff have allegedly been instructed to avoid sharing sensitive information within the CMCC, over fears that Jerusalem is collecting the data and will later exploit it.
“The IDF documents and summarizes meetings in which it is present through protocols, as any professional organization of this nature does in a transparent and agreed upon manner,” the IDF said in a statement. “The claim that the IDF is gathering intelligence on its partners in meetings in which the IDF is an active participant is absurd.”
The CMCC was established in October to shift responsibility for managing the ceasefire, humanitarian aid, and planning for the future of the Gaza Strip into American and allied hands following the acceptance of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan.
Israel holds control over what enters Gaza, despite US promises
Despite initial agreements, Jerusalem has failed to hand over the reins on controlling what enters Gaza’s perimeters, one US official complained.
“We didn’t take over [aid],” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It is an integration. It is hand in glove. They (The Israelis) remain the hand, and the CMMC has become the glove over that hand.”
Other US officials expressed their concern that American officials arriving to discuss the future of Gaza are uninformed on the issue, leaving Israel in more control of planning for the Palestinian territory’s incoming political landscape.
“We are really unsure how much time and energy to invest,” one source said. “But this is the only chance we have of [the Americans] listening to us.”