"Stealing" is different from "smuggling". The switches weren't secret tech in a govt lab, they were export-controlled private-sector tech-for-sale (similar legal status as encryption software)
The dictionary definition of "stealing" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stealing) is "to take (the property of another or others) without permission or right". Israel didn't have permission to take possession of the tech, so seems like the word is applicable.
