Ex-Mossad chief: Decision to close Zeira case 'bewildering'

Zvi Zamir says prosecution purposely delayed decision on complaint against former IDF intel chief suspected of exposing identity of Egyptian Mossad agent after '73 war

Shir Hadar|Published: 07.10.12 , 00:26

Former Mossad chief Zvi Zamir slammed Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein's decision to close the criminal case against former Military Intelligence Chief Major-General Eli Zeira as "bewildering."

Zeira was suspected of exposing the identity of Egyptian Mossad agent Ashraf Marwan during the Yom Kippur War.

Zamir headed Israel's intelligence agency from 1968 to 1974. On October 5, 1973 he met in London with Marwan, who warned him of Egypt's intent to attack Israel.

Marwan, who started working with the Mossad in 1969, died in June 2007 of a ruptured aorta caused when he fell from a window of his flat on the fifth floor of Carlton House Terrace in London. Some said Israel assassinated Marwan, while others claimed he was depressed and committed suicide.

Among the reasons for its decision to close the case, the prosecution cited the 84-year-old Zeira’s age, and the long period of time that has elapsed since launching the probe.

צבי זמיר. "אח"כ תוכל לשפוט חייל באמ"ן?" (צילום: עופר עמרם)

'Now they're closing the case?' Zamir (Photo: Ofer Amram)

In 2004, Zamir accused Zeira of exposing Marwan's identity years after the war – a move that compromised his ability to recruit agents for Israel.

Zamir, along with two other officers who served under Zeira – Amos Gilboa and Yossi Langotsky – filed an official complaint on the matter with the attorney general.

Speaking to Ynet on Monday, Zamir said the attorney general's office purposely delayed its decision on the matter so that "either one of us would die in the meantime or the statute of limitations on the case would run out."

Zamir mentioned that Anat Kam, who was convicted of illegally transferring confidential IDF documents to Haaretz reporter Uri Blau, was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. "She went to jail for handing documents to an Israeli reporter. Zeira disclosed information on Ashraf Marwan to an American journalist and he is not going to prison," the former Mossad chief said.

"The IDF transferred the case to the attorney general's office due to its severity, and now they're closing it?"

Zeira refused to comment, but Attorney David Libai, who represented him until 2008, said "the suspicion or claim against Zeira relates to things he may or may not have said in the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, meaning the investigation took us back 40 years. I think every levelheaded person realizes that the statute of limitations has run out."