Ex-Israeli spy chief reveals billion-dollar failures in Iranian espionage programs

In these statements, the first part of which had been previously leaked, Haliva spoke very candidly about Israel’s situation and the state of its politicians, explicitly describing Israel’s structure as a “brothel.”

According to the program’s host, the recording shows Haliva speaking in a very direct and frank accent, using a style usually reserved for closed-door confidential meetings. Confident that this information would not reach the media, he addresses the issues without hesitation or restraint.

Major General Aharon Haliva resigned as head of Israeli Military Intelligence on April 23, 2024, following failures in the “Al-Aqsa Storm” operation.

Channel 12 reported Haliva as saying: “In a structure like ours, no questions are raised about the main issues, while secondary issues such as repatriation can be asked freely. We live in a situation where everything is permissible. Look at how we have held hostage the families of captives—if you examine this closely, you will be shocked.”

In another part of his statements, he added: “There is no Israeli government here. What you see is a brothel. Our Security Council is a brothel—a real brothel.”

He described his career: “During my service, I held three main posts: head of the Technology and Logistics Department, which is an excellent and important position, but I also served in the cabinet as head of Operations. I was spokesperson for the Operations Department and had the difficult responsibility of overseeing operations.”

Haliva also remarked: “Since Aviv Kochavi has been head of intelligence, we live in what Thomas Friedman calls a ‘flat world.’ That is, in intelligence systems—especially in the Prime Minister’s Office—it is not the intelligence chief who decides what to see or not. Everything flows through the systems. Everything reaching the Mossad chief or the Shabak chief is open and visible; nothing is hidden.”

He continued: “Did you know that the Prime Minister has a colonel who commands his unit? He does not ask me what to show him; he has his own opinion. Reports are reviewed, and a daily—sometimes twice-daily—report is produced for the Prime Minister. He can contact Unit 8200—everyone has become unit commanders.”

The former head of Israeli Military Intelligence also addressed Israel’s espionage programs against Iran, stating: “If I were to say how much money we have spent on this program over the past 20 years, even the billion-dollar costs of building the barrier wall around Gaza would seem insignificant. We must admit that these efforts have been a spectacular failure.”