NSA Passed Americans’ Private Communications with ‘Israel’: Snowden

Local Editor

Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden accused the US National Security Agency [NSA] of routinely passing private, unedited communications of Americans to "Israel," an expert on the intelligence agency revealed in the New York Times on Wednesday.

James Bamford, writing in the New York Times, said Snowden told him the intercepts included communications of Arab- and Palestinian-Americans whose relatives in occupied Palestine could become targets based on the information.

According to documents leaked by Snowden, the material included "unevaluated and unminimized transcripts, gists, facsimiles, telex, voice and Digital Network Intelligence metadata and content."

Bamford cited a memorandum of understanding between the NSA and its "Israeli" counterpart outlining transfers that have occurred since 2009.

The memorandum indicates the data is routinely sent in raw form, without editing out names or other personally identifiable information, Bamford said.

The "Israeli" intelligence used the info to force the Palestinians into becoming collaborators.

Additionally, Snowden said the material was routinely transferred to Unit 8200, a secretive "Israeli" intelligence organization.
"It's one of the biggest abuses we've seen," Bamford quoted Snowden as saying.

Snowden, a former NSA contractor, is wanted by the United States on espionage charges after leaking a mass of secret NSA documents.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team