Full Release - IRmep

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Israel spi~d or in any way acted against our
great friend and aUy, the United States," Shalom
told reporters in Jemsalem.
"I think the ties between Israel and the United
States are intimate. The cooperation and l~vels
ofinformation are so close, so intimate, that the
information that is exchanged is much mo~
classified that any conversation or. another," he
said.
The pro-Israel'AIPAC lobby denied serving as a
conduit for documents from the analyst
connected to U.S. Defens~ Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld's office.
Newsweek magazine reported on Sunday that
the FBI began investigating Franklin after
tailing Gilon, the minister ofpolitical affairs at
the Israeli embassy in Washington, who met an
AIPAC representative for lunch.~Franklinreportedly
approached their table and engaged
in a warm conversation with them.
However, Shalom said any meetings Franklin
might have hel4Jwith pro-Israeli officials were
simply part ofdiplomatic work, acc~rding to~
Army Radio.
IIAmerican embassy offi9ials meet regularly
with Israeli goverJ1t11~~t officials," said Shalom.
lilt's an accepted thing."
The magazine also said Franklin was once
posted at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv when
he served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.
Accordirlg to the report, Federal Bureau of
Investigation counter~intelligence agents were
following Franklin when they saw him attempt
to pass a classified policy document on Iran to
an unnamed surveillance target.
Th~ U.S. adplinistration believes that the FBI
will refrain from c~g Franklin with
espionage, American media saidSunday. The
FBI apparently lacks any evidence thattl!e_
Pentagon data analyst was operated by either
Israel or-AlPAC.
Franklin, an analyst in the Pentagon's Near East
and South Asia Bureau; could be charged with
mishandling a classified document. However,
the FBI has yet to make an official
pronouncement on whether Franklin will be
arrest~ an~ what charges he might face.
Nevertheless, investigators are broadening their
.
http://www.haaretz.com!liasenlobjects/I
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