The wiretapping scandal is deepening, directly threatening the government and, more acutely, the “Holy Family.” The Prime Minister and his inner circle are now clearly under a regime of blackmail by the Israeli retired military officer, once an associate of Benjamin Netanyahu and now a producer and dealer of espionage tools and systems: Tal Dilian.
The former officer of Israel’s military intelligence, who has faced Greek justice and already carries a first-instance sentence of several years in prison for the wiretapping case involving Predator and the company behind it, Intellexa, apparently unable to bear the weight of a potential imprisonment and, above all, the looming exclusion from the lucrative “information warfare” business in Greece and Europe, rushed to clarify his position. He declared that the corporate scheme surrounding him sells individual “tools” and advanced “systems” exclusively to states and official authorities that represent the law.
He clarified that his company is in no way involved in managing them. He stated plainly that his firm sells, installs, trains personnel, and then hands the “tools” over to state agencies — in this case the Greek intelligence service (EYP) — which, according to him, bears full responsibility for choosing targets and organizing wiretaps and surveillance. In other words, he claims that he and his company are being unjustly prosecuted and that responsibility for any illegal acts lies with others.
Buying Political Time
In recent days, the dominant impression in both government and opposition circles was that Prime Minister Mitsotakis is under immense pressure and is struggling to buy time in order to resolve the whole affair and avoid direct strikes from the Israeli retired officer. Last Wednesday, following the postponement, on the initiative of Parliament Speaker Nikitas Kaklamanis, of the relevant pre-agenda discussion until after Easter, speculation was rife. PASOK and left-wing political figures were convinced that the Prime Minister was negotiating at the highest level with the Israeli leadership in order to secure Tal Dilian’s silence. “He’s trying to sort things out with Netanyahu to escape public disgrace,” people were practically shouting in the parliamentary corridors.
But is that really the case? Is Tal Dilian truly Netanyahu’s long arm in Greece, such that a single nod from him would be enough to walk back what he recently let slip? Does Benjamin Netanyahu really exert such influence and maintain such a strong bond with Tal Dilian that, in the middle of a war, he could persuade him to leave his friend Kyriakos Mitsotakis alone?
The Dilian–Netanyahu Relationship
Opinions are divided. Israeli sources contacted by To Vima indicate that, as strange as it may sound, retired military figures like Dilian do not maintain the best of relationships with the Israeli prime minister. They generally convey that Netanyahu and the military do not get along well, and that the circle of retired officers, people like Tal, are hostile to him, almost despising him for various reasons. Possibly because Netanyahu did not support them, or does not support them, in their post-retirement business activities.
Tal Dilian specifically did not find the backing he expected from Israeli authorities for his business ventures, which is why he had to relocate to Cyprus ten years ago and later to Malta in order to overcome obstacles — bureaucratic and otherwise — in his home country. He maintained contacts with officials and political and military figures, but was doubly enraged: both because he had been pushed out of the military, and because the regulatory authorities were slow to grant him the relevant licenses for his politically sensitive activities.
Furthermore, according to the same Israeli sources, he was recently furious because the Netanyahu government left him unprotected from American authorities following the wiretapping scandal in Greece. His companies — NSO and Candiru — faced difficulties after sanctions were imposed on Intellexa, and he himself ended up on a U.S. sanctions list for national security reasons.
In support of the above, sources note that Dilian had, among other connections, developed ties with former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, a declared enemy of Netanyahu. According to these same Israeli sources, given all of the above, it is extremely unlikely that the Netanyahu government could or would effectively intervene to resolve the explosive dispute between Dilian and Mitsotakis.
The Wedge Player in the “Information Warfare” Sector
Other sources, however, report that the bond between Dilian and Netanyahu remains strong despite all complications. They argue that the real source of the dispute lies in the competition that has erupted, following the exposure of the wiretapping scandal, over “information warfare” contracts, driven by rival entities coming from the “big country” (the United States).
According to these sources, the Greek side’s “godfathers” are trying to replace Tal Dilian and his company in order to “save” the large and lucrative “information warfare” project. This, according to this version of events, has enraged both Dilian and Israel, something that, beyond everything else, is also reviving rivalries within the “Holy Family”, the inner circle of the Greek PM’s office.
Reliable information indicates that in recent weeks, executives of the well-known Palantir, the company of Peter Thiel, have been traveling back and forth to Athens and holding high-level meetings. Palantir specializes in big data analytics combined with artificial intelligence. Founded in 2003, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, it is considered one of the world’s most powerful technology players in defense and cybersecurity.
This American multinational develops software platforms that allow defense organizations and intelligence agencies to integrate, manage, and analyze massive volumes of scattered data, identifying patterns that would be impossible to find by conventional means. Its products are used primarily by U.S. government agencies and the military for critical intelligence analysis, threat detection, and real-time decision-making.
The Easter Gathering — For Decisions and an Absence
If, then, there is indeed an attempt underway to replace Israeli information warfare systems with American interests, and if senior government officials are already in talks with Palantir, it stands to reason that the war with Dilian and his allies within the government is raging.
Rumor has it that a traditional “adviser” to the “Holy Family” has long been recommending that the wiretapping dispute be resolved in time, within the walls of the broader family household.
Easter therefore offers the perfect occasion for such gatherings. Chiefs, sisters, daughters-in-law, children, and nephews are preparing for the grand meeting, in order to settle differences and misunderstandings, choose a provider, and then head into the battlefield to face Androulakis, Dilian, the Americans, the Israelis, or whoever else stands in their way. Only that there’s a lot piling up out there, and relationships have become difficult — especially when some of those involved chose to spend Easter abroad, perhaps to avoid unpleasant encounters.
