strong desire to expose corruption and failures, as well as a penchant
for vengefulness. Two affairs of leaking top secret security informa-
tion concerned Horev most of all: the Vanunu affair noted above and
the affair of Professor Avraham Marcus Klingberg, who made rev-
elations about the Nes Ziona Biological Institute to the Soviets.
Shortly after assuming office as DSDE, Horev took measures to hob-
ble Vanunu, by then serving a prison sentence. Horev demanded that
harsh conditions be imposed on Vanunu in prison, including years in
solitary confinement and severe limitations on the number of visitors he
could have. But Horev failed to persuade the Israeli decision makers to
place Vanunu under administrative detention—arrest without trial—
even after he completed his prison term. Presently Horev is fighting a
rearguard battle to prevent Vanunu from leaving Israel and to have him
kept under supervision and restrictions tantamount to house arrest.
Several times Horev collided with the directors of the Mossadand
the Israel Security Agency (ISA). Although Malmab is not an actual
intelligence organization, as it does not collect information, Horev
wishes to transform it into another independent intelligence arm.
Horev’s name might have remained secret even years after the names
of the directors of the Mossad and the ISA were declassified had Israeli-
Arab Knesset member Issam Mahul not revealed it publicly in a Knes-
set debate. Such an act would be considered criminal if done by any or-
dinary Israeli, but as a member of the Knesset Mahul, he has some
degree of immunity. See also NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROGRAM.– I –
ILAN, URI (1935–1955).On the night of 8 December 1954, a force of
five Israel Defense Forces soldiers, three from the paratroops and two
from the infantry, crossed the armistice line between Israel and Syria
in the Golan Heights, entrusted with a secret mission: changing the
batteries of a wiretapping device. The mission was never accom-
plished. The men were surrounded by Syrian troops. Outnumbered
and under fire, the commander of the force ordered them to surrender.
They were taken prisoner by the Syrians and incarcerated at Al-Mazza
prison on the outskirts of Damascus. On 29 March 1956, after 475
days of imprisonment and excruciating torture, Israel’s diplomatic and118 • ILAN, URI06-102 (03) H-P.qxd 3/24/06 7:24 AM Page 118