Historical Dictionary of Israeli Intelligence

tine through the Briha is unknown, but the estimates range from

80,000 to 250,000.

BULL, GERALD (1928–1990).As a Canadian-born astrophysicist and

metallurgist, Bull worked during the 1960s for the Canadian Defense

Ministry as well as for the U.S. military. He was involved in a proj-

ect to build a cannon powerful enough to launch satellites into space.

From 1980 on, he lived in Brussels, where he offered his services as

an artillery consultant to the military establishments of various coun-

tries, including Israel. Bull’s offer was turned down by the Israelis.

However, in the early 1980s, while Iraq was at war with Iran, Bull

was hired by Iraq to help with its project on the development of a

megacannon capable of firing a huge projectile from a distance of

1,500 kilometers (930 miles). On 22 March 1990, Bull was shot dead

from close range at the entrance to his home. The two assassins es-

caped without taking his briefcase or any of the documents and jew-

elry he was carrying. Various theories about who was responsible for

the assassination were circulated in the international media, many of

which asserted that the Mossadwas behind it. Iraq and Iran were also

identified as candidates, as was the Central Intelligence Agency.

Bull’s family members have their own theory, namely, that he was in

touch with members of Israeli intelligence to whom he provided in-

side information about the Iraqi supergun project. According to an-

other theory, the Mossad killed him for failing to provide complete

information about the Iraqi program to extend the range of Scud mis-

siles and to improve their accuracy. The circumstances of Bull’s as-

sassination are still shrouded in mystery and will probably remain so.

BUQA’I, YA’ACOV (1930–1949). Born in Damascus, Syria, Buqa’i

immigrated to Palestine in 1945 and worked as an electrician in

Kibbutz Ashdot Ya’akov. In 1948 he joined the Arab Platoonaf-

ter a short period of training in Muslim customs, radio communi-

cations techniques, secret writing, and parachuting. To construct

his cover story, he was even held as an Arab in an Israeli prisoner-

of-war camp after Israel’s War of Independence. Buqa’i was as-

signed to a secret mission in the guise of an Arab refugee from

Jaffa under the name of Ibrahim Jajib Hammouda. On 2 May 1949,

together with a group of other released prisoners of war, he crossed

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