Exclusive-US briefly withheld some intelligence from Israel during Biden era

By Erin Banco and Jonathan ‌Landay

WASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence officials temporarily suspended sharing some key information with Israel during the Biden administration over concerns about its conduct of the war in Gaza, according to six people familiar with the matter. 

In the second half of 2024, the U.S. cut off a live ‍video feed from ‌a U.S. drone over Gaza, which was being used by the Israeli government in its hunt for hostages and Hamas militants. The suspension lasted for at least a few days, said five of the sources.

The U.S. also restricted how Israel could use certain intelligence in its pursuit of ⁠high-value military targets in Gaza, said two of the sources, who declined to specify when this decision was taken.

All of the sources spoke on the condition ‌of anonymity to discuss U.S. intelligence.

The decision came as worries intensified in the U.S. intelligence community about the number of civilians killed in Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Officials were also concerned that Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security agency, was mistreating Palestinian prisoners, the sources said.

Officials were concerned that Israel had not provided sufficient assurances that it would abide by the law of war when using American information, according to three of the sources. Under U.S. law, intelligence agencies must receive such assurances before sharing information with a foreign country. 

While the Biden administration maintained a policy of continuous support of Israel with both intelligence and weapons sharing, the decision inside the intelligence agencies to withhold information was limited and ⁠tactical, said two of the sources. The officials sought to ensure that Israel was using American intelligence in accordance with the law of war, said the sources.

One person familiar with the matter said intelligence officials have latitude to make some intelligence-sharing decisions in real time without an order from the White House. Another person familiar with the matter said any requests by Israel to ​change how it uses U.S. intelligence required new assurances about how it would use the information.

Reuters could not determine the dates of the decisions or if President Joe Biden was ‌aware of them. A spokesperson for Biden did not respond to a request for comment.

DENYING BATTLEFIELD INTELLIGENCE TO ALLY IS UNUSUAL

The intelligence ⁠sharing resumed after Israel provided assurances that it would follow U.S. rules.

The Biden administration's concerns about Israel's actions in Gaza have been widely reported, but less is known about how the U.S. intelligence community handled relations with its Israeli counterparts. Reuters' reporting underscores the depth of intelligence officials' concern over how Israel used American intelligence.

Israel and the United States maintained security cooperation throughout the war in Gaza, said the Israeli military press office, which did not directly address the instances when intelligence was withheld.

"The strategic intelligence cooperation continued throughout the war," the office wrote in an email.

The Israeli ​prime minister's office, which oversees Shin Bet, did not respond to a request for comment.

The CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees U.S. intelligence, did not respond.

Larry Pfeiffer, a former senior National Security Agency and CIA official, said it is routine for the U.S. to require recipients of U.S. intelligence to provide assurances that any information they receive would not be used to violate human rights “in any way shape or form.”

But denying battlefield intelligence to a key ally, particularly during a conflict, is unusual, said experts, and indicates a level of tension between the two.

In the case of Israel, such a move is also politically sensitive, given long-standing U.S.-Israeli intelligence ties and the strong bipartisan support for the country following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the conflict.

“Intelligence-sharing is sacred, especially with a particularly close ally in a volatile region,” said Daniel Hoffman, a former ​chief of covert CIA operations ‍in the Middle East. 

EXPANDED INTELLIGENCE SHARING AFTER HAMAS ATTACK

Following the October 7 attack, Biden signed ​a memorandum directing his national security agencies to expand intelligence sharing with Israel, said two of the sources.

In the days that followed, the U.S. established a team of intelligence officials and analysts led by the Pentagon and Central Intelligence Agency that flew MQ-9 Reaper drones over Gaza and provided a live feed to Israel to help locate and detain Hamas fighters, according to three of the people familiar with the matter. The drone feed also helped with hostage recovery efforts. 

Reuters could not determine what specific information the U.S. drone feed provided that Israel couldn't obtain on its own.

Toward the end of 2024, however, American intelligence officials received information that raised questions about Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners, said four of the sources. The sources did not disclose details of the alleged mistreatment that raised concerns.

Rights groups have reported grave abuses of Palestinians in Israeli detention during the war. Israel's military is investigating dozens of cases but says abuse is not systematic.

Shin Bet did not provide adequate assurances that it was not mistreating its prisoners, prompting American intelligence officials to shut down its access to the drone feed, two of the sources said.

The decision to stop sharing the intelligence came after Biden’s administration had determined that it was still legal for the U.S. to ⁠send weapons and intelligence to Israel despite mounting fears among some officials that its military was violating international law during its operations in Gaza. 

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.

During the war, U.S. intelligence analysts continually assessed intelligence to determine if Israel's and Hamas’ actions on the ground fit the U.S. definition of a war crime, according to two people familiar with the ​matter.

While they were not legal analyses, those assessments raised serious questions about whether Israel, particularly through attacks that killed civilians and its treatment of prisoners, was violating the law of war, they said.

Even as such concerns intensified, Biden administration lawyers maintained that Israel had not violated international law, according to multiple former officials. 

In the final weeks of the administration - months after the intelligence was shut off and restored - senior national security officials met at the White House for a National Security Council meeting, chaired by President Biden, according to two people familiar with the matter.

At the meeting, intelligence officials proposed that the U.S. more formally cut off some intelligence that had been provided to Israel following the October 7 attack.

The intelligence sharing partnership was set to expire and intelligence officials said their concerns had deepened that Israel had committed ‌war crimes in Gaza, said the two sources. Just weeks earlier, the U.S. gathered intelligence that Israel's military lawyers warned there was evidence that could support war crimes charges against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza.

Biden chose not to cut off the intelligence, however, saying the Trump administration would likely renew the partnership and that the administration’s lawyers had determined Israel had not violated international law, according to the two sources.

The spokesperson for Biden did not respond to questions about the 2024 meeting and the decision to maintain intelligence sharing.

(Additional reporting by Phil Stewart and Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Don Durfee and Deepa Babington)