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Mossad logo. Its slogan is: "By indirection you will wage war." (AP file)
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| By Associated Press October 6, 2005 |
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A leading Norwegian pro-Palestinian activist on Thursday claimed she infiltrated the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad as a double agent in the 1980s.
Karin Linstad was a founding member of the Norwegian Palestine Committee, and is married to high-profile Norwegian Muslim Trond Ali Linstad, who converted to Islam in the 1980s.
"I can't go into detail about the people and the organizations," she told The Associated Press. "My starting point and my loyalty has always been with the Palestinian side."
Norway, the home of the Nobel Peace Prize, has been a key player in seeking Middle East Peace, especially in secretly brokering the now tattered 1993 Oslo Agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Linstad said she decided to reveal her former role because she is being identified as an agent in the Norwegian book "War and Diplomacy" being published next week.
According to the Norwegian media, the book by state television NRK Middle East correspondent Odd Karsten Tveit identifies Linstad as a former Mossad agent, but does not address any role as a double agent.
Linstad's husband of 32 years said he had be unaware of his wife's activities, but that her being an agent could explain some past incidents.
"Karin came to me once and asked if someone came to her and asked to be part of the underground intelligence, what should she do," he told the AP by telephone. "I said if we can serve the Palestinian cause, it's right."
He said he had no details about her tasks, but that "I have complete faith that her evaluations were right."
Linstad refused to give any details of her work for Mossad or as a pro-Palestinian counteragent, or say how long it lasted. Nor would she confirm that she worked for the Palestinians, saying only "there are others who also sympathize with the Palestinians."
The Oslo newspaper Aftenposten said Mossad had been skeptical of Linstad's offer to act as an agent, but was drawn in by her claims of tight contact with leading Palestinians.
The newspaper, without citing sources, said she provided information about Palestinians in Beirut ahead of Israel's 1982 invasion.
Eldbjoerg Holte, who helped found the Norwegian Palestine Committee with her close friends the Linstads, said she was shocked by the revelation.
"Giving information about Palestinians, or me and my comrades in the Palestine Committee ... is rotten regardless of the motive," she was quoted as telling the Norwegian news agency NTB.
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