A former Mossad official said he was the target of the latest undercover operation by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.

Israeli analyst Yossi Alpher was invited to be interviewed for what was supposed to be a documentary on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said he realised something was amiss when he saw the interviewer - a man claiming to be a German rock star dressed in leather and studs - who compared the Middle East conflict to the spat between actor Brad Pitt's former and current wives.

Alpher said he was led down a winding staircase and through long corridors to the interview site in Jerusalem, but only learned later that the interviewer was Cohen's latest character, Bruno.

Cohen's other characters include rude-boy Ali G and the Kazakh journalist Borat.

Due to the sheer inanity of the questions, Mr Alpher and his Palestinian counterpart began to suspect the interview was a scam, but it was too late to pull out as the two had signed release forms and received payment for the interview.

In answering one question, the interviewees had to explain the difference between Hamas - an Islamic group ruling Gaza - and hummus - a chickpea paste eaten throughout the region.