The spy Who Shook facebook

The Egyptian General Intelligence Services announced their “most heroic” act yet post-January 25 by arresting alleged Israeli spy to Egypt Ilan Chaim Grapel on June 12. Grapel allegedly received training from the Israeli intelligence agency, the notorious Mossad, and served in the Israeli army during the 2006 war in Lebanon.   But apparently, Grapel’s trainers had failed to teach him how not to post significant pictures of himself while on assignment — the 28-year-old man had published photographs of himself in Tahrir Square’s protests and giving speeches in mosques on his Facebook profile. This is at least according to the Egyptian media.   It has been reported that Grapel was present at several protests around Cairo. He has been accused of igniting unrest and provoking citizens against the army in an attempt to create and maintain a state of havoc. The alleged “spy” is also accused of leading and inciting a group of protesters into burning the Azbakeya police station during the revolution. The Egyptian General Intelligence Services announced that they found a massive number of pictures and sensitive information about current events in Egypt on Grapel’s laptop and email account.   Grapel was allegedly planted in Egypt to foment sectarian strife and turn citizens against the army, and more specifically the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) governing the nation during the transition period. The state claims Grapel used different locations to send sensitive information to Israel concerning internal affairs and the status quo following the revolution.   It’s curious though how Grapel, who made it a point to change locations to not be caught, is the very same one who carelessly posted pictures of his “super secret mission to sabotage the revolution” on a social networking website.   Amid the hubbub, the US embassy announced that Grapel is an American citizen who carries both Israeli and American passports. Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman showed surprise at the arrest, calling the action against Grapel unjustified and wrong and describing the incident the “first thorn” in the post-revolution Egyptian-Israeli relations.