RAMALLAH, November 13 (JMCC) - Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman was denied access to sensitive intelligence information in the past, despite his position in the government, an official
told the Associated Press.
A spokesperson for the far-right official, an immigrant from Moldova, denied the report.
The official did not give the reason for the measure against Soviet-born Avigdor Lieberman, which would be rare for a top official and doubly extraordinary for a minister whose portfolio specifically deals with coordinating security initiatives. The most important work of the ministry in recent years has involved the threat from Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program.
However, immigrants from Communist nations are known to struggle with gaining security clearance — and this may be true of Lieberman, who is considered close to some top officials in his homeland. Furthermore, Lieberman’s situation has been complicated by years of corruption probes.
The official said Lieberman had not been given full access to secret information while he was minister of strategic affairs from October 2006 to January 2008. The official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said that did not mean Lieberman was under any particular suspicion. The official did not know whether Lieberman’s security clearance was upgraded in 2009, when he became foreign minister in the current, more hawkish government.