Israel recruited Dutch UN officers for espionage

Article found at Electronic Intifada

Between 1956 and 2003, Israel has recruited Dutch UN officers to spy in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. This happened during the peaks of the Dutch-Israeli friendship. In its recruitment of Dutch officers for intelligence gathering, Israel regularly used blackmail.

During their missions, Dutch officers were eyewitnesses of the Israeli-Arab conflict. They were in the region during the Suez crisis, at the frontlines of the 1967 June War, the 1973 October War and were present during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the Gulf War.

Between 1956 and today, around 500 officers of the Dutch airforce, ground forces and navy operated in UNTSO. He described how a one-sided, pro-Israeli group of officers shifted to a more neutral position. When they returned back to the Netherlands, people did not believe their stories. Often they were branded as "anti-Israeli" or even "anti-semitic". Eventhough a number of Dutch officers were actively involved in espionage for Israel, the majority of Dutch officers with UNTSO changed their opinion based on what they observed themselves. Ten Cate concludes his book saying that "much earlier than the rest of the Dutch people, the Dutch officers learned that the Israeli-Arab conflict has two sides instead of one."