Israeli PM downplays intel leaks by ‘best ally’ America

WASHINGTON: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday downplayed the significance of a leak of classified US documents about the Jewish state, and insisted America remains his country´s “best ally” despite friction over his contested reform push.

Among the trove of Pentagon files that found their way online in recent weeks, one said leaders of the Israeli spy agency Mossad encouraged staff to join demonstrations against the controversial judicial reforms sought by Netanyahu. The document attributed the information to intercepted electronic signals, indicating US spying on a country with which it has close ties.

Interviewed on NBC talk show “Meet The Press,” Netanyahu called the reporting around the US classified material a “misunderstanding.” “The truth is that the Mossad legal adviser said that under Israeli law junior members of Mossad can participate in the demonstrations, not senior members,” Netanyahu said, insisting that Israel´s military and security services were “working hand in hand with me, as prime minister, to assure the security of the country.”