White House Responds to Report of Increased Counterintelligence Threat from Israel

The White House has dismissed a report from NBC News stating that the Pentagon raised its counterintelligence threat level regarding Israel to 'critical,' the highest designation. This report cites two current U.S. officials and one former official who expressed concerns about Israel's alleged spying activities on U.S. officials, particularly regarding internal deliberations of the Trump administration about Middle Eastern conflicts. According to the report, the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) produced a seven-page document assessing Israel's espionage capabilities. The Pentagon did not comment on the report, while a White House official stated that the story is false and based on unreliable sources. An Israeli embassy spokesperson also denied the allegations, asserting that Israel does not gather intelligence on American entities. However, previous reports have indicated that Israeli operatives have conducted surveillance on U.S. personnel, including incidents involving U.S. military bases.