It comes as a laugh that despite the close diplomatic ties between the US and Israel on the surface, the intelligence agencies of both countries are anything but friendly.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is said to consider “Israel its No. 1 counterintelligence threat in the agency’s Near East Division,” according to a report carried by the Associated Press quoting former US officials. “Counterintelligence is the art of protecting national secrets from spies. This means the CIA believes that US national secrets are safer from other Middle Eastern governments than from Israel.”

Israeli intelligence agencies have been implicated in intrusions and tampering with sensitive equipment of CIA officers in Israel, criminal espionage cases inside the US, and disciplinary proceedings against CIA officers, according to the report.

“Despite inarguable ties between the US and its closest ally in the Middle East and despite statements from US politicians trumpeting the friendship, US national security officials consider Israel to be, at times, a frustrating ally and a genuine counterintelligence threat,” said the report.

CIA agents working in Israel are said to be under close watch, with secret tampering of their communication equipment and they are also said to be under constant surveillance.

There have been several instances of proven Israeli cases of espionage in the US itself, but it is a safe bet that dozens of such cases have been kept away from the public.

Israel, which enjoys access to the highest levels of the US government in military and intelligence circles, has been implicated in cases of disciplinary proceedings against CIA officers and blamed in the presumed death of an important spy in Syria for the CIA during the administration of president George W. Bush.

One of the best known cases is that of Jonathan Pollard, who worked for the US Navy as a civilian intelligence analyst, who was convicted of spying for Israel and sentenced to life in prison. Pollard was convicted in 1988 of handing over intelligence over Arab military affairs to Israel, which in turn gave the information to the then Soviet Union in return for relaxation of restrictions on Soviet Jews migrating to Israel.

Israel has been pressing the US administration to release Pollard, who was sentenced to life in prison, but the case had raised so much hue and cry among the American public that no government could comply with the Israeli demand.

The Israeli behaviour should not be surprising. The Jewish state believes that it is fighting a lone battle against the rest of the world. It lives by the set of rules that it has drawn up for itself. It is natural that a country would uphold its interests over those of others, but in Israel’s case it is a matter of absolute ruthlessness that leaves no room for any consideration whatsoever for the accepted international code of conduct and diplomatic accommodation.

The first to take note of the abnormality of the US-Israel relationship should be the American public. However, it is highly unlikely that the latest AP report would cause anything more than a few ripples without any consequences.