SPY GAMES:

Yesterday, five right-wing Jewish extremists were indicted by Jerusalem's district prosecutor for spying on the Israel Defense Forces in an effort to disrupt the army's evacuation of illegal outposts in the West Bank, an organized campaign of violence that included bashing a senior IDF officer in the face with a brick as well as large-scale vandalism against army bases and vehicles. The indictment might not have been breaking news if it weren't for the settlers' sources: the chairman of the coalition, Likud MK Ze'ev Elkin, as well as several other right-wing parliamentarians were the settlers' informants.

The very same Elkin was behind a recent bill to investigate left-wing non-profits who receive funding from international sources. His argument revolved around the assertion that in making the IDF's actions public, leftist activists were jeopardizing IDF soldiers and state security. None of the non-profits, however, reported on future or current operations; Elkin did, and in so doing put Israeli soldiers in direct physical harm.

One of Elkin's fellow informants, National Union MK Uri Ariel, made no apologies once his role in supporting the extremists became public. "If a person who transfers information about IDF movements is a spy," he said, "then I am a spy."

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