Listening device found in UK foreign office bathroom after Netanyahu visit, former PM alleges
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (L) shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Foreign Office in central London on February 6, 2017. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that all "responsible nations" should back new sanctions against Iran, speaking during a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May in London. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Kirsty Wigglesworth
Boris Johnson, the former UK Prime Minister, has made a shocking claim in his memoir “Unleashed” that a listening device was discovered in his personal bathroom at the Foreign Office after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited in 2017.
Johnson recounts that Netanyahu, whom he refers to as “Bibi,” excused himself to use the facilities during their meeting, and later, during a regular sweep for bugs, a listening device was found in the bathroom, which Johnson colloquially refers to as the “thunderbox.”
This allegation comes amidst a history of similar accusations against Israel. For instance, in 2018, Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, was accused of placing listening devices near the White House to eavesdrop on then-President Donald Trump.
Three former US officials claimed that Israel had been identified by the FBI as the culprit behind the placement of several miniature devices in Washington DC, designed to monitor mobile telephone traffic.
Historical cases of espionage involving Israel include Jonathan Pollard, a former US Navy intelligence analyst convicted of passing classified information to Israel in the 1980s.
Pollard sold numerous state secrets, including the National Security Agency’s manual on how the US gathers signal intelligence, and disclosed the names of thousands of people who had cooperated with US intelligence agencies.
Other notable cases include Ben-Ami Kadish, an American mechanical engineer who pleaded guilty in 2008 to providing classified US military documents to Israel, and Arnon Milchan, a Hollywood producer who admitted to being an Israeli spy in the 1970s and 1980s, helping to acquire technology for Israel’s nuclear weapons program.
These allegations have sparked conversations about whether Israel is a genuine ally of Western nations. In 2016, British intelligence labeled Israel as a “true threat” to the security of the Middle East, based on top-secret documents obtained by whistleblower Edward Snowden.
The history of espionage involving Israel and its allies is complex and multifaceted, with various cases and allegations raising questions about the nature of Israel’s relationships with Western nations.
