Saudi Arabia to release vulture detained over spying for Israel’s Mossad

JERUSALEM - Saudi Arabia would reportedly release a vulture, tagged with a GPS tracker by Tel Aviv University, which was caught in the country last week and accused of spying for Israel’s Mossad.

Prince Bandar bin Saud Al Saud mocked at the allegations by locals and the media last week, which claimed said that the vulture was part of a “Zionist plot.”

“These systems are fitted to birds and animals, including marine animals. Most countries use these systems, including Saudi Arabia. We have taken delivery of this bird, but we will set it free again after we have verified its systems,” ABC News quoted Saud, as saying.

“Some of the Saudi journalists rushed in carrying the news of this bird for the sake of getting a scoop without checking the information. They should have asked the competent authorities about the bird before publishing such news,” he added.

The bird, identified as a Griffon vulture tagged R65 was called a bald eagle by Saud. Following its detention, Israeli officials quickly declared that it was part of a program studying migratory patterns.

“The device does nothing more than receive and store basic data about the bird’s whereabouts, and about his altitude and speed,” an official at Israel’s Park and Nature Authority said.

Israel is the subject of feverish conspiracy theories across the Arab world. In December, an Egyptian governor floated the possibility of Mossad being behind a string of shark attacks at n Egyptian resort. (ANI)