{"id":19266,"date":"2025-06-22T15:12:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-22T15:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/?p=19266"},"modified":"2025-06-22T15:12:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T15:12:59","slug":"nes-tziona-the-secret-history-of-israels-biological-warfare-institute-built-on-a-palestinian-ruin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/06\/22\/nes-tziona-the-secret-history-of-israels-biological-warfare-institute-built-on-a-palestinian-ruin\/","title":{"rendered":"Nes Tziona: The Secret History of Israel\u2019s Biological Warfare Institute Built on a Palestinian Ruin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watan<\/strong><\/em>-77 years ago, in the spring of April 1948, the village of Wadi Hunayn\u2014lush with citrus groves\u2014wilted before harvest. Like many Palestinian villages from Ramla to Gaza, it was emptied by Zionist Haganah forces. Its affluent residents, including major traders, were forced to flee following nearby attacks, such as on Sarafand al-Kharab.<\/p>\n

After the Nakba, the Israeli colony Nes Tziona absorbed Wadi Hunayn and expanded with the nearby Kfar Aharon. The village mosque\u2019s minaret was demolished and replaced by the “Geulat Yisrael” synagogue, and affluent Palestinian homes were seized\u2014one converted into a psychiatric hospital, others into private residences. Most notable was Abu Omar al-Afandi\u2019s mansion, which the Israeli military science division transformed into a top-secret biological research facility.<\/p>\n

Birth of a Weapons Lab: Scientists in Lab Coats, Killers in Disguise<\/h3>\n

On Sunday, amid Israeli censorship of war news and images of Iranian missile strikes, a video surfaced showing a missile impact near the Nes Tziona Biological Institute, revealing large-scale destruction.<\/p>\n

This site\u2014Israel\u2019s most secretive research center\u2014has a long, dark history. It was allegedly involved in developing biological weapons used in the assassination of Palestinian leaders, including Wadie Haddad of the PFLP in 1978. Two Israeli books\u2014Open Account by Aharon Klein and Rise and Kill First by Ronen Bergman\u2014cite the institute as the source of the untraceable poison used on Haddad via chocolate or toothpaste.<\/p>\n

The institute\u2019s origins trace back to March 1948 when David Ben-Gurion tasked emissaries with recruiting European Jewish scientists capable of mass killing\u2014or healing\u2014through science. Professors like Alex Kenin led the initial biological warfare units, which eventually evolved into Nes Tziona, officially founded in 1952.<\/p>\n

While claiming civilian goals such as vaccine research, its true aim was the creation of biological and chemical weapons. This was later exposed through incidents like the 1992 El Al cargo crash in Amsterdam, which killed 43 and was found to have carried precursors for sarin nerve gas labeled as destined for Nes Tziona.<\/p>\n

The palace of the Palestinian Al-Taji family, which has become the main building of the Nes Tziona Biological Research Institute (X).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Scandals, Human Testing, and Global Condemnation<\/h3>\n

One of the worst scandals emerged in the 1990s: over 700 elite Israeli soldiers were unknowingly injected with anthrax vaccines in a covert program called “Omer 2”, violating international law banning human experimentation. Many soldiers later suffered from chronic diseases and neurological damage.<\/p>\n

Other infamous assassination attempts linked to the institute include the 1997 poisoning of Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and the 2010 murder of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, both using advanced toxins.<\/p>\n

Academic Secrecy and State Control<\/h3>\n

Nes Tziona operates under the direct authority of the Israeli Prime Minister. Its director since 2021, Shmuel Yitzhaki, oversees hundreds of researchers, many with PhDs, whose dissertations remain classified if tied to military projects\u2014a practice unmatched in any other academic setting globally.<\/p>\n

According to Dutch journalist Karel Knip, the lab produces a range of nerve agents, paralytic chemicals, and studies infectious bacteria and viruses under the guise of defense and civilian research.<\/p>\n

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\u2014 \u0634\u0628\u0643\u0629 \u0642\u062f\u0633 \u0627\u0644\u0625\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631\u064a\u0629 (@qudsn) June 22, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n