Israel breathes easy after China 'spy mugs' panic debunked
Israel breathes easy after China 'spy mugs' panic debunked
Concerns were raised after reports claimed that China had bugged a set of gifts given to Israel's transport and science ministries.
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It had been suggested the mugs contained a bug [Mario Marco/Getty-file photo]
breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday after reports of possible "spy mugs" from turned out to be a false alarm.
TheÌýmugs were presents from Tel Aviv embassy and had been provided to Israel's scienceÌýand transport ministries, The Jerusalem Post reported.
It had beenÌýsuggested the thermal mugs contained a bug, an allegation which China strongly denied.
Israel's Shabak intelligence service said its "technological experts who checked the component found that it is innocent and meant to maintain a vacuum in the sides of the mug and maintain the temperature over time".
The mugs were presents celebrating the upcoming Jewish religious festival of , according to a Chinese embassy statement reported by The Times of Israel.
The statement described claims of a possible "suspicious device" in the mugs as "baseless rumours".
These "aim to drive a wedge between China and Israel, tarnish China's image and seriously mislead the public", the embassy added.
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