Israel rejects Egyptian spy charges

An Israeli Cabinet minister dismissed Egyptian allegations that Israel recruited an Egyptian citizen as a spy. “It’s a fabrication,” Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter told reporters during a trip to Canada this week, when asked about an indictment served in Cairo against an Egyptian-Canadian accused of spying for Israeli intelligence. Dichter said he spoke with people in Israel who would know about the issue and, “I would summarize it in one word — nonsense.” Jerusalem had a contretemps with Ottawa in 1997 after it emerged that Israeli agents had used fake Canadian passports for a mission. That prompted Israel to promise that such actions would not be repeated. “Those days are over,” said Dichter, a former head of Israel’s domestic Shin Bet intelligence agency. “Everybody understands the rules.”