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SANTIAGO, Chile, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Israel allegedly helped Chilean intelligence "monitor" Arab Palestinian and Iranian individuals and communities in the Latin American country, leaked diplomatic documents indicate. The Santiago Times said diplomatic communications published by WikiLeaks showed that Israeli authorities were concerned by an increase in the Iranian and Palestinian presence in Latin America and collaborated with the Chilean government to monitor them.
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The newspaper said Israeli "special defense forces" and Chilean counterparts monitored "unusual activity" within those communities.
Chile is among nations that recently recognized a Palestinian state within borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which led to Israeli occupation of the West Bank territories.
Israel and Israel's friends in Latin America have published numerous commentaries on the Arab and Iranian relations with Latin America.
A July 28, 2008, cable written by Juan Alsace, then economic and political adviser to the U.S. ambassador, said Israeli Defense Attache Yoeli Or played a role in monitoring the Iranian Ambassador to Chile Kambiz Jalali as well as a group of Palestinian immigrants to the country. The exact details of the monitoring weren't discussed in the communication published by WikiLeaks.
The report also didn't say if the "monitoring" amounted to full-scale surveillance.
"Israel is also watching as a growing number of Muslims immigrate to Chile," the cable said. About 37 Palestinian Muslims who arrived in Chile earlier that year under a U.N.-sponsored resettlement program were also under surveillance.
Iran re-established its ambassadorial position in Chile in early 2008 and in 2009 and 2010 Iran spearheaded a series of diplomatic and trade initiatives across South America. Iran secured wide-ranging economic and technical collaboration agreements with Chile, Brazil, Venezuela and Bolivia.
Brazil's outspoken former President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, backed Iran's nuclear power generation program and signed agreements for wide-ranging cooperation.
Israel in the meantime sent envoys to South America to warn regional governments of risks in encouraging Iran or allowing more visits from the Middle Eastern country.
The diplomatic memo from Alsace noted there were no signs of Iranian government affiliation with terrorist groups in Chile but the Chilean intelligence services and their Israeli helpers were screening Iranians and Palestinians in the country "for anything they deem suspicious."
The cable said Or stated that he works with Chile's investigative police and other agencies sharing information and providing training when possible.
Jalali was "unaware of any Chilean government requests for Israel's help in countering Iran's influence," the cable said.
The Palestinian presence in Chile goes back at least three generations and consists mainly of Christian Arabs. Estimated to be between 350,000 and 500,000, the community in Chile is believed to be the largest body of Palestinians in any country outside the Arab world.
