The announcement of the arrest of an Israeli man, Ilan Grapel, on charges of spying in Egypt has been met with skepticism in some quarters, especially as accounts emerge of a man who, if he were a spy, could only be described as "bumbling".
According to a Reuters report, Grapel was posting openly on his Facebook page about his presence and activities in Egypt – hardly the remit of a super spy.
Meanwhile, the evidence presented by Egypt's own spooks seems less than convincing. Again according to Reuters, photographs of Gapel offered by the prosecution as incriminating evidence were in fact taken from the Facebook page of a pro-Israeli group.
And for some analysts, the notion of sending such a spy – bumbling or otherwise – to Egypt right now makes no sense anyway.
Mohamed al-Gawady, a historian from the Arab Social Science Council, said that there seemed to be no tangible benefit to Israel from Grapel’s presence in Egypt, especially in the post-uprising era, when an exposé like this could severely harm the relationship between the two countries.
Activist and blogger Hossam al-Hamalawy also cast doubt on the story, writing on his blog that protesters in Egypt have been accused of being directed by Israel since the student riots of 1968.
“Seriously, what a soap opera,” he wrote.
There is precedent, however. During the 18-day uprising in January, a pixilated image of a young woman appeared on a satellite television channel claiming that she was trained by Israel to foment revolt in Egypt. She was later revealed to be a journalist from the “24 Hours” newspaper, and her story was discredited by her own editor.
“In times of revolution, there will be interest from the neighbors,” al-Gawady said, “but that does not necessarily mean that all those who are present will be spies.”
Grapel was detained on Sunday, and according to the MENA news agency, was remanded into custody for 15 days pending investigation. He is being charged with trying to gather information about the 25 January uprising.
Expert on Israeli Affairs at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies Abdel-Alim Mohamed does not discount the possibility that Grapel was recruited to gather intelligence. However, he added, “The problem is that we have this mythical image of the Mossad, that it is this incomparable intelligence service, but we ignore that it has many failings and it isn’t as strong as it used to be.”
Hamalawy contended on his blog that this was a “cheap move” by the Egyptian intelligence services, to deflect from criticism of the armed forces, as any opposition would be “depicted immediately as the work of Israeli spies."
This does not mean that there have not been instances of confirmed Israeli espionage activities in Egypt, but as is policy with the Mossad, there is never an admission of guilt.
The only case of tacit admission by Israel of spies operating on Egyptian soil was the “Lavon Affair” in 1954. The plan was to firebomb sites frequented by foreigners in Cairo and Alexandria, with the blame laid on local terrorists. However, the perpetrators were caught and two were hung. Although Israel never outwardly admitted to the Lavon Affair, it commemorated the nine Egyptian Jews implicated in the bombings in a ceremony 50 years later.
Aside from the discredited case of the reporter from "24 Hours", the arrest of Ilan Grapel is the first case of an alleged spy operating on Egyptian soil since the recent uprising.
However, in December 2010, the State Security Prosectution charged a local businessman and two Israelis (in absentia) for attempting to recruit Israeli spies in Egypt. The day before this announcement, there had been reports of another spy ring comprised of four Egyptians and two Israelis.
“Which is the bigger threat to Egypt? This man or the people who used to rule the country from the previous regime, the ones responsible for all the ‘friendly fire’?” al-Gawady said.
