investigations

Checkpoints in Northern Gaza: Companies with Intelligence Nature Linked to Israel and the UAE, Shrouded in Ambiguity and Illegal Secrecy

With the start of the return of residents to northern Gaza as part of the ceasefire agreement, specifically on January 27, photos and videos spread on social media platforms showing armed individuals in military uniforms, speaking in the Egyptian dialect, organizing the movement of individuals and vehicles at checkpoints inside Gaza.

Some photos showed individuals with foreign features, which raised questions about the identity of the entities responsible for these operations, especially with the ambiguity surrounding the nature of these committees and the fact that they are not officially affiliated with any state in a declared manner.

The photos show individuals in uniform, resembling the attire of private security companies, seemingly managing the movement of returnees, while a group of foreigners is seen participating with the Egyptian group in inspecting those returning to the northern Gaza Strip. Their photos were widely circulated on American and Israeli accounts on the X platform (formerly Twitter).

Available information reveals that the inspection operations are being supervised by three companies: two American companies, Safe Reach Solutions (SRS) and UG Solutions, in addition to an Egyptian company whose name has not been disclosed in any official source. Besides the lack of officially documented information about these companies, the data obtained by ‘Taqasee’ about these companies raises suspicious question marks.

The first company, SRS, is known as a specialist in strategic planning and logistical management of complex areas, and has contracts with government agencies and private companies. The company claims to provide advanced security services that include banks, hospitals, and IT providers, with a customer base reaching 5,000 companies and more than 350,000 users worldwide.

However, scrutiny of its financial structure reveals its connection to Two Ocean Trust, a financial institution based in Wyoming, USA, known for providing confidential financial services to the wealthy, raising questions about the nature of its funds and its network of relationships.

It is worth noting that the company is registered as a “shell company”, a type of company that does not own any specific assets or active business operations, meaning it exists only on paper to hide business ownership from law enforcement or the public, which is illegal, and is usually used as a front for intelligence agencies.

‘Taqasee’ found a copy of the founding documents for Safe Reach Solutions, LLC in Wyoming, published in an investigation by journalist Jack Poulson, an independent journalist working on open-source investigations and tracking international weapons and technology.

‘Taqasee’ research revealed that in addition to his role in leading SRS, Mr. Philip Reilly served as the CIA station chief in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2009. He was also the head of operations at the agency’s Counterterrorism Mission Center, which oversaw the drone airstrike program, one of the most controversial programs during the war on terror in the Middle East.

Reilly previously served as Senior Vice President of Special Activities at Constellis, the parent company of Blackwater, which has become synonymous with the term “American mercenaries”. It is worth noting that Global Delivery (GDC), a partner of Constellis with former Israeli military intelligence officials in its management, has proposed deploying mercenaries in Gaza.

In addition to Philip Reilly’s intelligence activities in the Middle East region and his involvement in American private security companies, evidence has emerged showing his strong ties to the UAE. Reilly held a position on the executive board of Circinus in 2016, a company involved in espionage and intelligence gathering through digital surveillance systems. The latter concluded major agreements with the UAE worth hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a report published by the New York Times in 2018.

As for the second company, UG Solutions, it presents itself as a security company specializing in securing high-risk areas and employs former members of the US Army and the CIA. It was founded by Jameson Guiffoni, a former US Special Forces soldier with a long history in counter-smuggling and military intelligence operations.

UG Solutions does not have a clear business record and is not listed on US stock exchanges, indicating that it operates within the scope of private security companies that rely on secret contracts with governments and unofficial actors. Its founder is also involved in other secret military-related businesses, such as developing a product called Alcohol Armor, which was created for use in secret military operations.

On the Egyptian side, the search did not reveal any information about the identity of the company managing the inspection operations, which means the obscurity of this company; there are no official records indicating its name or nature of work. Besides, the nature of these companies and their method of operation raise questions about the real role they play at the checkpoints in Gaza. Are they merely security companies providing logistical services? Or are they part of a larger operation with intelligence and military dimensions?

The lack of transparency about the American and Egyptian companies makes it difficult to determine the parties that benefit from these operations, but what is certain is that the presence of private security companies with an intelligence nature in this context indicates security arrangements that go beyond mere inspection operations, which may extend to monitoring residents, gathering intelligence information, and even managing the movements of individuals and vehicles according to the interests of the institutions behind these companies.

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