A top official in Israel’s intelligence agency is getting the boot for his role in surreptitiously procuring Palestinian tahini in the West Bank. The unnamed lieutenant-colonel at Unit 504, Israel’s human intelligence agency, will be dismissed from the army. Yuval Shimoni, chief intelligence officer with the Israel Defense Forces, will be reprimanded, as will two other commanders, Israeli news outlet Haaretz reports. A January investigation by the investigative TV program Uvda discovered two instances in which the elite unit used agents to purchase boxes of tahini — a Middle Eastern sesame seed paste — for the chief intelligence officer. As well, the report said Shimoni should have inquired about the origin of the tahini boxes he received.

Source: National Post February 04, 2020 15:11 UTC