Mossad and Israel's mafia
"To unravel this, we need to know what role has been played by the rogue Israeli government."
Last week, the country was shocked by the arrest of an Israeli citizen who entered the country using a French passport.
Initially, the detained individual was linked to the Israeli intelligence agency, known as Mossad, which has carried out operations in the country several times.
Several days later, several Israeli newspapers linked him to one of the families of organised crime syndicates or mafia.
Indeed, according to a statement by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), during the investigation into the individual, the suspect known as Shalom Avitan, stated that his purpose in this country was to kill the main enemy of his rival mafia family.
His 'target' individual, a man known as Eran Haya who, according to Israeli newspaper reports, had entered Malaysia in mid-March of this year.
The authenticity of the information provided by Avitan to the Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) and reports from major Israeli newspapers seem to complete the puzzle about who and why Avitan was in Malaysia.
However, the RMP is still sceptical of the explanation given and believes that there are hidden hands behind the real purpose of Avitan's arrival in the country.
To unravel this issue, we need to know what role has been played by the rogue Israeli government, especially the Likud Party government, which has ruled for so long and the connection of the leadership of that party with organised crime groups or the Israeli mafia.
Like in Italy, there are many mafia groups active in Israel. Among the main ones are the Abergil, Abutbul, Alperon, Dumrani, Shirazi, Amir Molnar, and Zeev Rosenstein families. Not all of these mafia families are Jewish.
The Jarushi group, for example, is of Arab descent from Libya and is Muslim and has migrated to Palestine for more than 100 years.
Among the activities carried out inside and outside Israel by these mafia families include casino and gambling operations, prostitution, human trafficking, money laundering, murder, extortion, illegal loans, and drug distribution.
One unique thing about the Israeli mafia is how it has succeeded in establishing good relations with the Likud Party, the right-wing extremist party led by Benjamin Netanyahu that governs Israel today.
In the Israeli general elections of 2003, Inbal Gavrieli, the daughter of one of the leaders of the Israeli mafia groups, was appointed to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
In one incident, she used her position as a Knesset member to prevent the police from searching her father's residence.
The influence of the mafia in the political scenario of the Israeli government is so serious that in 2010, the US Ambassador expressed concern about it openly.
In 2017, Husam Jarushi, a member of an Arab mafia family, was arrested by Israeli police on charges of trying to demand certain favours from David Bitan, a prominent member of parliament. According to reports, this was in retaliation for Bitan's failure to settle a sum of debt he borrowed from the Jarushi mafia family.
Last year, Rafi Chaim-Kedshim, representing one of the Israeli mafia families, launched a campaign to become the head of the Likud branch in the Herzliya municipality.
Also present to support the launch event were Likud Party members who held ministerial positions.
These included Defence Minister Yoav Galant, Energy Minister Israel Katz, and Transportation Minister Miri Regev.
More surprisingly, Rafi is a former convict who has been imprisoned four times on charges of violence, kidnapping, extortion, and cashing checks on the black market!
With the close ties between the ruling Likud party and the Israeli mafia families, it is not surprising if Shalom Avitan, the individual detained by the police, is actually under the control of Mossad.
Using the mafia to launch operations outside the country is something synonymous with Israel's policy which encapsulates the doctrine of 'the end justifies the means'.
It also allows the rogue state of Israel to 'wash its hands' of any responsibility if anything unexpected happens to their successfully bypassed espionage agents, such as Shalom Avitan.
*Muhammad Fuad Mat Noor is a defence analyst and has been awarded Best Journalist by the Malaysian Ministry of Defence in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2007. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Sinar Daily.
