Snowden documents show NSA sharing raw data with Israel, including Americans' personal info

Published January 13, 2015

The National Security Agency shares raw intelligence with Israel before going through it to remove information about Americans, the Guardian reported, citing a top-secret document by whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

The document says details of the intelligence-sharing agreement are laid out in a memorandum between the NSA and its Israeli counterpart that shows the U.S. government gave the country intercepted communications that likely contained American citizens' emails and phone calls.

There are no legally binding limits on data used by Israel, the Guardian reported.

According to the agreement, the intelligence shared would not be filtered in advance by NSA analysts to remove US communications, the report said.

The agreement mentions only one check carried out by the NSA on raw intelligence, saying the agency will "regularly review a sample of files transferred to ISNU to validate the absence of US persons' identities." It asks that the Israelis limit access only to personnel with a "strict need to know," the Guardian reported.

Israeli intelligence officials are allowed "to disseminate foreign intelligence information concerning US persons derived from raw Sigint by NSA" on condition that it does so "in a manner that does not identify the US person."

"We are not going to comment on any specific information-sharing arrangements, or the authority under which any such information is collected. The fact that intelligence services work together under specific and regulated conditions mutually strengthens the security of both nations," the NSA said in a statement.

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