News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The Knesset paid honor on Monday to the memory of General Meir Amit, the third head of the Mossad intelligence agency. During a special session, Defense Minister Ehud Barak called Amit "a pillar of Israeli security and its strength." Amit also served as head of military intelligence and headed the ministries of transportation and communication.

Among his successes were the planting of spy Eli Cohen in Syria and the defection of a Syrian MiG pilot to Israel. In retirement, he referred to Islamist terror as World War III and advocated military action against Iran's nuclear development program, including the assassination of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In 2003, he was awarded the Israel Prize, for lifetime achievement and special contribution to society and the State.