OPINION by Iqbal Jassat

In the wake of another Gupta-linked scandal involving a state of the art jet and Cyril Ramaphosa, which media exposed and covered extensively – rightly so – one wonders why the subdued attention given to the “Grabber”?

No, its not to do with “grabbing” ladies’ behinds, nor their handbags.

The “Grabber” represents a much bigger threat to the very foundation of democracy in SA, and unsurprisingly, emanates from Israel.

Regarded as a “super-spy” machine, it can bug up to 10 000 cellphone lines live, jam networks, download and intercept SMSes, send SMSes to any number, detect other surveillance devices and block them, access bank transactions, and above all, undermine SA sovereignty.

Being more powerful than the ones used by the state, it can listen to conversations of the president, ministers in the security cluster and snoop on anyone without being detected.

Yet this insidious threat to safety and security of SA, illegal intrusion affecting thousands of people’s lives and wellbeing in addition to the deliberately connived false flag operations Israel’s Mossad are known for, has largely gone unnoticed.

From the little information tucked away in a few IOL news reports, its established that the “Grabber” was brought into SA from Israel in bits and assembled in Cape Town by an Israeli company.

How many of these super-spy devices are operating undetected is anyone’s guess. Who is behind this massive attack and why? If reports indicate that the devices were sourced in Israel through a trust fund belonging to a local businessman, surely his name and details of his business operations should be revealed?

Given the nature of this highly sensitive category of special equipment and the threat it poses to national security, it is entirely impossible for Israel’s rightwing regime to deny any knowledge of it’s role in processing multimillion dollar deals.

The “Grabbergate” scandal will in all likelihood unearth a network of Israeli-allied business bigwigs, spooks and mischief makers intent on destabilising SA if media pursues an investigation as relentlessly as they do “Nkandla” and “Guptagate”.

Iqbal Jassat is the executive member of the Media Review Network, a Johannesburg-based thinktank. Visit www.mediareviewnet.com