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

Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...

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 ( ar, جهاز المخابرات العامة ; GIS), often referred to as the Mukhabarat ( ar, المخابرات ) is an Egyptian intelligence agency responsible for providing national security intelligence, b ...

Biography

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

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

occupied the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), 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 l ...

during the

1967 War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Jun ...

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

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Mossad

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

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

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 ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

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

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 him about his experiences with the people he worked with. The GIS recruited him to provide the Israelis with false information for the next six years. Israel provided Al-Hawan with the most advanced transmitting device at the time, but once Al-Hawan arrived in Egypt he sent a message with it saying, "From Egyptian intelligence to Mossad, thank you for your cooperation with us during the recent period."

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 Emam ( ar, عادل إمام; born 17 May 1940 is an Egyptian film, television, and stage actor. He is primarily a comedian, but he has starred in more serious works and, combined comedy with romance especially in his earlier films, which i ...

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