Arab Paranoia: birds spying on us

Saudi Arabia: Israeli-tagged vulture is a Mossad spy

A vulture tagged by scientists at Tel Aviv University has strayed into Saudi Arabian territory, where it was promptly arrested on suspicion of being a Mossad spy, Israeli and Saudi media reported.

The bird was found in a rural area of the country wearing a transmitter and a leg bracelet bearing the words "Tel Aviv University", according to the reports, which surfaced first in the Israeli daily Ma'ariv.

Although these tags indicate that the bird was part of a long-term research project into migration patterns, residents and local reporters told Saudi Arabia's Al-Weeam newspaper that the matter seemed to be a "Zionist plot."

The accusations went viral, with hundreds of posts on Arabic-language websites and forums claiming that the "Zionists" had trained these birds for espionage.

Last month [in another incident t]he Sinai regional governor suggested that a shark that killed and maimed tourists on its Red Sea port [in Egypt], may have been intentionally released by Israeli agents in order to sabotage the country's tourist industry.
[Ha'aretz]
[Hat tip: DavidG]
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