Israel’s Hidden War: The Expansion of a Regional Spy Network

Over the past decade, Israel has shifted from overt military confrontations to a more covert, technologically advanced strategy aimed at consolidating regional dominance. This new frontier of conflict unfolds not on the battlefield, but across servers, smartphones, and diplomatic boardrooms. Packaged under the guise of normalization and economic integration, Israel’s growing alliances with Arab regimes have opened the doors to a sprawling spy network. An exclusive Dark Box investigation reveals how this silent war is being waged—and what it means for millions across the Arab world.

Normalization or Digital Occupation?

Israel’s normalization agreements with the UAE, Bahrain, and, increasingly, Saudi Arabia have been framed as steps toward regional peace and prosperity. However, beneath the surface lies a different reality: the export of Israeli cyber-espionage tools to governments now turning them inward.

At the heart of this operation is the NSO Group, whose Pegasus spyware has made headlines globally for its role in hacking devices from journalists to dissidents. In the UAE, Pegasus became a tool of state surveillance, allegedly used to monitor citizens, foreign officials, and even U.S. nationals. Devices were turned into 24/7 listening posts.

The Meshaal Precedent

The world first glimpsed the audacity of Israel’s clandestine operations in 1997, when two Mossad agents attempted to assassinate Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Amman. The operatives were caught red-handed. In a rare diplomatic humiliation, Israel had to provide an antidote for the poison and release imprisoned Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.

This incident established a dangerous precedent: Israel was willing to kill in allied Arab capitals to neutralize perceived threats, regardless of sovereign borders.

The UAE: Tel Aviv’s Digital Laboratory

Post-Abraham Accords, the UAE transformed into the epicenter of Israel’s regional intelligence expansion. In addition to Pegasus, Emirati authorities have imported Israeli surveillance expertise to train security forces in offensive cyber tactics.

Al Jazeera reporters, among others, had their phones compromised. Activists and scholars found themselves under constant digital scrutiny. Rather than empowering its own digital sovereignty, the UAE outsourced repression to Israel, enabling a crackdown on dissent, all under the banner of modernization.

Bahrain: Cyber-Submission in Action

Tiny Bahrain has proven to be a big player in this clandestine ecosystem. The country adopted Israeli malware tools like Candiru, a lesser-known but potent digital weapon. Political dissidents, many of them Shia Muslims critical of the Sunni monarchy, became prime targets.

Infiltrated opposition groups reported being tracked, intimidated, and digitally isolated. Internal security services were revealed to be working closely with Israeli “consultants,” according to leaked documents.

Saudi Arabia: Covert Embrace of Surveillance

Publicly, Saudi Arabia maintains that normalization with Israel remains contingent on Palestinian statehood. But quietly, it has welcomed Israeli intelligence cooperation. Pegasus was installed on phones of close associates of slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Leaked communications reveal Israeli agents meeting with top Saudi intelligence operatives, offering tools and know-how to suppress internal dissent. These developments expose a dual game: resisting Israel in public, embracing it in private.

What Does Israel Gain?

Israel’s regional spy network is not simply about collecting data. It serves strategic objectives:

• Suppressing Palestinian Resistance: Leaders, activists, and their networks abroad are constantly monitored.
• Controlling Arab Regimes: Data allows Israel to shape policies, sometimes through subtle blackmail.
• Weaponizing Surveillance: Israeli firms provide regimes with tools to quash dissent, especially Islamic and pro-Palestinian voices.
• Avoiding Direct Conflict: By embedding itself within allied regimes, Israel maintains dominance without firing a bullet.

Dark Box will continue to investigate and uncover the hidden mechanisms of Israel’s spy network. This is not just about politics—it’s about sovereignty and truth.

The war is real. The silence must be broken.