{{Short description|Reported prisoner in Israel since about 2004}} "'''Prisoner X2'''" (Hebrew: {{lang|he|"האסיר איקס 2"}} or {{lang|he|"X2 האסיר"}}) is a placeholder name of a Mossad agent (described as an "important operative")<ref>{{cite news|author=Dan Raviv, Yossi Melman|title=At Least 2 Mossad Spies were Held in Israeli Prisons: One Committed Suicide, and Now Some Details on the Second Man – a World Exclusive|url=http://israelspy.com/at-least-2-mossad-spies-were-held-in-israeli-prisons-one-committed-suicide-and-now-some-details-on-the-second-man-a-world-exclusive|date=February 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302002653/http://israelspy.com/at-least-2-mossad-spies-were-held-in-israeli-prisons-one-committed-suicide-and-now-some-details-on-the-second-man-a-world-exclusive|archive-date=2014-03-02}}</ref> who has reportedly been secretly imprisoned in Israel since about 2004, after he was convicted of treason (reportedly spying for Iran).<ref name=Oren />
==Reports about Prisoner X2== Details of a "second Prisoner X" being secretly held in Ayalon Prison emerged in 2013, following the exposure of the death of Ben Zygier. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Knesset that the case was "extremely serious" but that the prisoner's rights were being upheld.<ref name=bbc>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-23187419|title=Israel 'secretly holds second Prisoner X' in jail|date=12 July 2013|work=BBC News}}</ref> Israeli lawyer Avigdor Feldman described this case as "a terrible security breach", and "much more grave, sensational, amazing and riveting from Zygier's case."<ref>{{cite news|title=Feldman: there is at least one more secret prisoner in Israel|url=http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4402876,00.html|newspaper=Ynet|date=July 9, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Israel secretly holds 'Prisoner X2' for security breach: lawyer|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-security-israel-detainee-idUSBRE9680KQ20130709|newspaper=Reuters|date=July 9, 2013}}</ref> The case was kept secret in Israel, and reports about it were deleted from Israeli news sites.<ref>{{cite news|title=In 2014, ''Maariv'' reported that according to foreign reports, a Mossad operative is being held in an Israeli prison for about a decade for treason|url=https://rotter.net/forum/scoops1/84367.shtml|newspaper=Maariv|date=March 1, 2014|access-date=December 11, 2021|archive-date=December 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211140058/https://rotter.net/forum/scoops1/84367.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Secrets behind death of spy Ben Zygier revealed in new book, Prisoner X, by Rafael Epstein|url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/secrets-behind-death-of-spy-ben-zygier-revealed-in-new-book-prisoner-x-by-rafael-epstein-20140221-337r4.html|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=February 22, 2014}}</ref>
In May 2018, Richard Silverstein reported in his blog, ''Tikun Olam'', that Prisoner X2, still unidentified, had been released from custody. In his report, Silverstein cited the work of {{ill|Amir Oren|he|אמיר אורן}} with ''Walla!''.<ref name=Oren>Silverstein, Richard (May 7, 2018). [https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2018/05/07/israeli-dirty-ops-firm-black-cube-denies-claim-trump-hired-it-to-dig-up-dirt-on-obamas-iran-team-israel-releases-prisoner-x2-former-senior-mossad-official-secretly-imprisoned-for-betraying-israe/ Trump Operatives Hired Israeli Dirty Ops Firm, Black Cube, to Dig Dirt on Obama's Iran Team; Israel Releases Prisoner X2, Former Senior Mossad Official Secretly Imprisoned for Betraying Israel] (citing report by Amir Oren of Walla!). Tikun Olam (blog). Viewed May 2, 2021.</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.makorrishon.co.il/nrg/online/1/ART2/489/123.html Lieberman reveals: The second X prisoner is involved in an "extremely grave case"] (in Hebrew), Nrg, July 10, 2013 * [https://www.haaretz.co.il/news/politics/.premium-1.2068610 Sources in Prison Service tell Haaretz: The second X prisoner is being held in total isolation for years] (in Hebrew), Haaretz, July 10, 2013 * [http://forward.com/news/israel/180385/what-we-know-and-dont-know-%C2%A0about-israels-pris/ What We Know — and Don't Know — About Israel's Prisoner X2], The Forward, July 14, 2013 * [http://www.dw.com/en/israels-prisoner-x2-case-raises-concerns/a-16960106 Israel's 'Prisoner X2' case raises concerns], Deutsche Welle, July 18, 2013
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Category:People of the Mossad Category:People convicted of treason against Israel Category:Incarcerated spies Category:Double agents Category:People convicted of spying Category:Post–Cold War spies Category:21st-century spies Category:Ayalon Prison inmates Category:Censorship in Israel Category:Iranian spies Category:Iran–Israel relations Category:Unidentified people Category:Year of birth unknown