A video shared on X claims to show ex-Mossad director Efraim Halevy admitting Israel armed Al-Qaeda.

Former Director of Israel’s Mossad admits that Israel armed Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups in the Middle East pic.twitter.com/gSwQln8bxv

— Areel Fox (@AreelF58075) June 5, 2024

Verdict: False

Halevy was talking about Israel providing medical aid, not weapons. The interview is from 2016, not 2024.

Fact Check:

Social media users are sharing a video of Halevy, claiming it shows him admitting that Israel gave weapons to Al-Qaeda. One user wrote, “Former Director of Israel’s Mossad admits that Israel armed Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups in the Middle East.” (RELATED: Does This Video Show A Cat In Rafah?)

This claim is false. Through a reverse image and keyword search, Check Your Fact found that the video is from a 2016 interview Halevy did with Al-Jazeera. There, host Medhi Hassan asked about Israel providing medical aid to Al-Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda affiliate.

“As I said before, in a different context, it is always useful also, to deal with your enemies in a humane way. And I think that when you have people who are wounded, and you can deal with them in a humane way, the considerations as to whether to take them in are not simply whether it’s politically useful, or whether …” Halevy said.

Halevy never said that Israel was giving weapons to Al-Nusra Front. In 2014, a United Nations report showed that Israel was giving medical aid to Syrian rebels and providing supplies, according to the Jerusalem Post. An Israeli general also admitted in 2019 that Israel has provided weapons to some Syrian rebel groups, the Times of Israel reported.

Lead Stories also debunked this claim.