Hamas, the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority, is flipping out after discovering a dolphin–which they claim is actually working as a spy for Israel.
Can a dolphin actually be a spy for a major regional power?
Hamas claims that the dolphin, captured in the Mediterranean off the coast of the Palestinian-occupied Gaza Strip, was equipped with “spying equipment,” including cameras. All of which they claim came from the Israeli armed forces.
But Israel seemed to laugh the entire thing off as ludicrous (which it certainly sounds like.) The only similarity is that Israel has a number of “Dolphin-class” ships in their fleet–but, despite what the Palestinians claim, that refers to an actual ship, not an aquatic animal.
But despite Israel’s denials, this isn’t the first time they’ve been accused of using sea animals for spying purposes.
In 2010, Egypt claimed that Israel was controlling a number of sharks–which were attacking tourists in Egypt’s tony Red Sea resort towns. And in 2012, Sudan claimed that an eagle–marked with an Israeli tag–was spying on them as well.
While dolphins are noted as one of the smartest animals on the planet, it seems unlikely that Israel would use them to obtain information from Hamas.
It’s unknown whether Israel is (or is not) actively trying to spy on their neighbors with highly-trained animals. But, at this point, it seems more ridiculous that the Palestinians think a rogue dolphin would be the biggest threat to their nation-building.
