Israel spied on Kerry during peace talks: report

Israel eavesdropped on US Secretary of State John Kerry during doomed peace talks with the Palestinians last year, German news weekly Der Spiegel reported on Sunday.

The article said the Israelis and at least one other secret service listened in on Kerry’s conversations as he tried to mediate, in a development that Der Spiegel said was likely to further strain ties between Israel and the United States.

Kerry regularly spoke by telephone with high-ranking officials throughout the Middle East during the negotiations that finally collapsed earlier this year.

Spiegel, which cited ‘several sources among secret services’, said that he used not only secure lines but also normal telephones with satellite connections which were vulnerable to tapping.

‘The government in Jerusalem used this information in the negotiations on a diplomatic solution in the Middle East,’ it said. Spiegel said Kerry’s office and the Israeli government declined to comment on its report.