In the late 1980s and early 1990s, millions of Egyptians gathered around their televisions whenever the series “Raafat Al-Haggan” aired to watch the agent Egyptian Raafat gathering information in Israel and sending it back to his homeland, Egypt.

The story of Raafat Al-Haggan, whose real name was Refaat Ali Suleiman Al-Gammal, is one of the most exciting and mysterious stories in the history of Egyptian intelligence.

It was documented in a fictionalized account in Saleh Morsi's book "I Was a Spy in Israel."

The novel, a key source for understanding Gammal's story, recounts the life of a man who lived under a false identity in Israel for 17 years, providing vital information to Egyptian intelligence.

Morsi initially published it in installments in the Egyptian magazine Al-Musawwar.

From the first installment, on January 3, 1986, it captured the attention of many.

The collection of episodes in "I Was a Spy in Israel" was published in 1988. That same year, the novel was adapted into the aforementioned television series “Raafat Al-Haggan,” which consisted of three parts.

While the series and the novel present Gammal as an Egyptian national hero, Israeli versions have emerged that question his loyalty to Egypt, alleging that he was a double agent.

What is the story behind this mysterious character?

Beginnings and “Recruitment”

According to Morsi's account, Gammal was born on July 1, 1927, in Damietta, Egypt, and grew up in modest circumstances.

After the death of his father, a coal merchant, in 1936, his older half-brother decided to move the family from Damietta to Cairo, where Gammal enrolled in the Intermediate Commercial School.

After graduating, he applied for a job as an accountant with an oil company on the Red Sea. who was later dismissed after being accused of embezzling company funds.Later, he obtained a position as an accounting assistant on a ship that transported him to various European ports. In his youth, Gammal was ambitious, had a sharp intellect, a talent for acting, and a great ability to adapt to different circumstances. He mastered English and French at an early age, which later aided him in his mission. Gammal's journey with Egyptian intelligence began after the 1952 revolution, when the Egyptian General Intelligence Service was being established under the leadership of Zakaria Mohieddin. Gammal had been involved in fraud and forgery while traveling in Europe, which led to his arrest in Egypt in 1952. There, the intelligence services saw an opportunity to recruit him as a spy due to his exceptional ability to disguise himself and assume multiple identities. Egyptian intelligence offered him two options: prison or working as an agent for them. He opted for the latter and began intensive training that included learning espionage techniques such as the use of secret ink, codebreaking, radio operation, and taking photographs with precision cameras. He also received training on Jewish customs and culture, including the distinction between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, in order to adapt to Israeli society.

He received a new identity: “Jacques Bitton,” an Egyptian Jew who immigrated to Israel in 1955.

Thus began his career as a spy at the heart of Israeli society, and he was assigned the number “Agent 313” in Egyptian intelligence.

At the Heart of Israel

According to Morsi's account, Gammal managed to forge an extensive network of contacts in Israel, establishing a successful tourism company as a front for his activities.

This company, called “Sea Tours,” allowed him to connect with prominent figures in Israeli society, including politicians and military personnel.

Gammal possessed charisma and a great ability to inspire trust, which allowed him to penetrate deeply into Israeli circles.

During his mission, he provided vital information to Egyptian intelligence, particularly regarding Israeli military preparations.

Among his most notable achievements, according to the Egyptian narrative, was his role in the October 1973 war, when he provided Egypt with accurate intelligence on the Bar Lev Line, a chain of fortifications built by Israel along the eastern shore of the Suez Canal.

That contributed to the success of the Egyptian crossing at the beginning of that war.

The book portrays Gammal as a patriotic figure, driven by love for his country,Despite the contradictions in his life.

It highlights the sacrifices he made, including living far from his homeland and family, and the psychological stress of keeping his secret.

The novel also covers details of Gammal's personal life, including his marriage to Waltraud Bitton, a German woman he married during a visit to Germany in 1963, and with whom he had a son, Daniel.

Their relationship continued until his death, without her knowing who her husband really was.

Waltraud recounted that Gammal introduced himself to her as an Israeli Jew of French-Egyptian origin named Jacques Bitton.

He told her that he was born in Mansoura, Egypt, on August 23, 1929.

His father was a French businessman who worked in Egypt and married an Egyptian woman, with whom he had two children.

Jacques was the eldest, while Robert, the younger brother, committed suicide. After their mother's death, their father remarried a French woman who had two daughters. He didn't feel comfortable living with them and ran away from the family.

Waltraud Bitton, who wrote a book, also recounted how Gammal exposed the Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who was operating in Syria under the name “Kamel Amin Thabet”.

She related that Gammal met Cohen in Cairo in 1954, when they were both arrested for spying for Israel.

Upon seeing photos of Cohen with Syrian officers in an Arabic newspaper, he informed Egyptian intelligence of his identity, which, in turn, passed the information to Syria, leading to his capture and execution.

It should be noted that there is another account of Cohen's downfall, which states that he was arrested in Syria as a result of a communications surveillance operation carried out by the Syrian security services.

The Israeli Narrative

Unlike the Egyptian narrative, the Israeli one presents a completely different perspective on the story by Gammal.

According to reports published by Israeli newspapers such as Haaretz and Yedioth Ahronoth, Gammal was a double agent after being exposed and arrested in Israel in 1955.

According to this account, after arriving in Israel under the name Jacques Bitton, Israel's internal intelligence service (Shabak) discovered his espionage activities through his business partner, Imre Fried, who worked for the agency.

His home in Tel Aviv was raided, and during the investigation, intelligence officer Mordechai Sharon persuaded him to work for Israel in exchange for his release.

The Israelis claim that Gammal agreed and began passing misleading information to Egyptian intelligence, which contributed to Israel's success in the 1967 war.

On that occasion, he informed the Egyptians that Israel would not attack the Egyptian Air Force, even though the plan was to attack Egyptian airfields, which resulted in the destruction of most Egyptian aircraft on the ground.

This success, according to the Israeli narrative, made Gammal's recruitment operation one of the most successful for Mossad (Israel's Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations).

Some Israeli sources also indicate that Mossad subsequently helped Gammal establish investments in Europe, which explains his move to Germany after leaving Israel in 1973.

However, there is a contradiction in the Israeli narratives.

Although some newspapers claimed that Gammal was a double agent, the former deputy director of the Shin Bet (Israel's internal counterintelligence service), Gideon Ezra, denied any knowledge of a spy named Jacques Bitton.

And the Former Mossad chief Isser Harel also noted that Israeli authorities perceived a significant security breach but did not suspect Bitton. These contradictions have raised doubts about the veracity of some Israeli journalistic accounts. Some believe they were a reaction to the enormous popular success of the 1988 television series "Raafat Al-Haggan" in the Arab world. Furthermore, Egyptian intelligence supports its story with the spy's role in the October 1973 war. The Egyptians argue that if Gammal had been a double agent, Israel would have known about the Egyptian preparations for the 1973 attack, thus preventing Egypt from taking it by surprise at the start of that war. Gammal's memoirs, revealed by his wife after his death in 1982, confirm that he was loyal to Egypt and who lived a life full of sacrifices for his country.

Death and Legacy

Gammal died in Darmstadt, near Frankfurt, Germany, from lung cancer.

From the Egyptian perspective, Gammal is a national hero who provided crucial information that contributed to Egypt's victory in the October 1973 war.

Saleh Morsi's book highlights the human aspects of his character, such as his love for children and his pain at the suffering of others, and also describes the psychological challenges he faced living under a false identity.

In contrast, the Israeli narrative attempts to portray Gammal as an opportunistic figure, exploited by Israeli intelligence to serve its interests.

“I Was a Spy in Israel” falls within the genre of spy fiction, in which Morsi combines historical facts with dramatic fiction to create a captivating story.

Morsi based his work on 70 pages of documents provided by Egyptian intelligence, but added narrative touches that made the story more compelling.

This combination has led some to question the accuracy of the facts, especially since the book doesn't answer some questions, such as why Egypt didn't benefit from Gammal's intelligence in the 1967 war.

Some readers felt this reflected shortcomings in Egyptian intelligence work at the time, while others believed it reflected the complexities of intelligence gathering.

Culturally, Gammal's story has had a profound impact on Arab consciousness, especially after it was adapted for television.

The series achieved enormous popular success, and Gammal became a symbol of Egyptian patriotism.

In the end, the story of Raafat Al-Haggan remains a mystery that blends fact and fiction.

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