RAMALLAH, West Bank – A former Palestinian intelligence chief and the head of the West Bank bar association are suing the Palestinian Authority after a purported whistleblower alleged they were targeted, along with other allies and rivals of President Mahmoud Abbas, in a large-scale CIA-backed wiretapping operation.
Allegations of continued intelligence-sharing with the United States could prove embarrassing for Abbas, at a time of growing political tensions with Washington.
A 37-page anonymous document, purportedly written by a disgruntled former member of the Palestinian electronic surveillance team, says his unit monitored the phones of thousands of Palestinians.
Bar association chief Jawad Obeidat said Monday that transcripts of his phone conversations, as published in the document, are accurate.
A spokesman for the security services dismissed the widely shared document as "nonsense."
The CIA declined comment.
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