Israeli spy ring spawned feared Egypt intelligence - The Lavon Affair

CAIRO, April 15 (Reuters) - When Israeli agents hired a dozen young Jews to bomb strategic targets in 1950s Egypt, they never imagined it would lead to the creation of the powerful and shadowy Egyptian intelligence services of today.

Egyptians know little about the secretive intelligence forces, known on the street simply as the Mukhabarat, whose agents are reputed to infiltrate all walks of life from doormen to diplomats and government officials.

"They operate using secrecy on one hand and rumour on the other," said Scott Long, researcher at Human Rights Watch."Fear is very powerful and (in Egypt) it's fear by example." snip

Scholars and former officials say a failed Israeli attempt to sour fledgling Egyptian-U.S. relations in 1954 by recruiting young Zionists to blow up foreign and strategic targets was the major push behind the formation of the Mukhabarat.

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