Gumaa Al-Shawan (né Ahmed Al-Hawan; 1 July 1937 – 1 November 2011) was an Egyptian spy who worked for the Israeli

Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...

from 1967 until 1973. He provided the Israelis with false military information with the help of the

Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate The General Intelligence Service ( ; GIS), often referred to as the Mukhabarat ( ) is an Egyptian intelligence agency, and secret police force, responsible for providing national security intelligence, both domestically and internationally.Sul ...

Biography

Ahmed Al-Hawan was born and raised in Suez. He and his family left after

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

occupied the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai ( ; ; ; ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Afri ...

during the 1967 War. His wife Fatima reportedly lost her eyesight due to an Israeli air strike and they moved to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Mossad

When Al-Hawan couldn't find a job in Cairo, he traveled to

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

to earn his living on a ship. He met a woman with whom he fell in love, but who was reportedly a

agent and who convinced him to work at her father's company. There he met an undercover Mossad agent posing as a

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

n who asked Al-Hawan to return to Egypt and gather information regarding the ships that were sailing in the Egyptian

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

Egyptian Intelligence

Al-Hawan opened a grocery store and began to collect information for his bosses but he soon developed some doubts about their intentions. He went to the headquarters of the General Intelligence Service (GIS) and met with Rais Zakariya (General Mohammed Abdul Salam Al-Mahgoub) whom he informed about his doubts about the people he worked with. The GIS recruited and gave him a rank of sergeant, to provide the Israelis with false information for the next eleven years. The Mossad, then still convinced that Al-Hawan is a valuable asset, and after subjecting him to a

polygraph A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a pseudoscientific device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a ...

test which he passed, provided him with the most advanced transmitting device at the time, believed to be a burst transmitter. Once in Egypt, and at the first scheduled transmission window, Al-Hawan sent a message using the device which reportedly read: "From Egyptian intelligence to Mossad, we thank you for your cooperation over the last eleven years with our man, Ahmed Al-Hawan, and we look forward to other operations."

Retirement

In January 1976, while collecting some info for the Mossad under the supervision of the Egyptian intelligence, an army vehicle hit Al-Hawan causing him a major injury in his right leg that he says could have easily been cured, had the doctors been more competent. The injury was followed by damage to the right eye as a result of using invisible ink. He requested retirement which was approved by President Sadat in December 1977.

Popular culture

His story was made into a drama series titled ''Tears in Insolent Eyes'' دموع في عيون وقحة starring

Adel Emam Adel Mohammed Emam (; born on 17 May 1940), is an Egyptians, Egyptian Cinema of Egypt, film, Television in Egypt, television, and Egyptian Theatre, stage actor, known for his extensive career with over 150 artistic works, including films, plays, a ...

as Gumaa Al-Shawan.

Death

Gumaa Al-Shawan died on 1 November 2011 at the age of 74 after suffering from an unknown illness. For several months he was treated at a medical facility of the armed forces.

References

External links

* http://www.fayoum.edu.eg/english/newsdetail.aspx?news_id=97 * https://web.archive.org/web/20110406010418/http://ct.tarekshalaby.com/component/content/article/36-real-people/138-the-fascinating-life-of-egypts-most-famous-spy {{DEFAULTSORT:Shawan, Gumaaal 1937 births 2011 deaths Egyptian spies Place of death missing People from Suez Double agents