(23.9.2016) Evidence submitted to a German court, including letters sent by former Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz, reveals a small part of intelligence-agency activities that usually remain behind closed doors. According to the documents — which were submitted for the trial of a former German spy — Western surveillance agencies, Israel likely among them, operated a tax-haven company to fund various security-related operations.

Some of the materials suggest that the agent, Werner Mauss, mediated between Israel and Hamas regarding the return of Israeli soldiers’ bodies from Gaza and worked on other security-related issues connected to Israel.