Forty-three veterans of one of Israel’s most
secretive military intelligence units – many of them still active reservists –
have signed a public letter refusing to serve in operations involving the
occupied Palestinian territories because of the widespread surveillance of
innocent residents.
The signatories include officers, former instructors
and senior NCOs from the country’s equivalent of America’s NSA or Britain’s
GCHQ, known as Unit 8200 – or in Hebrew as Yehida Shmoneh-Matayim.
They allege that the “all-encompassing” intelligence
the unit gathers on Palestinians – much of it concerning innocent people – is
used for “political persecution” and to create divisions in Palestinian
society.
The largest intelligence unit in the Israeli
military, Unit 8200 intercepts electronic communications including email, phone
calls and social media in addition to targeting military and diplomatic
traffic.
The signatories say, however, that a large part of
their work was unrelated to Israel’s security or defence, but appeared designed
to perpetuate the occupation by “infiltrating” and “controlling” all aspects of
Palestinian life.
Written in uncompromising language the letter
states: “We, veterans of Unit 8200, reserve soldiers both past and present,
declare that we refuse to take part in actions against Palestinians and refuse
to continue serving as tools in deepening the military control over the
Occupied Territories.”
They add: “The Palestinian population under military
rule is completely exposed to espionage and surveillance by Israeli
intelligence. It is used for political persecution and to create divisions
within Palestinian society by recruiting collaborators and driving parts of
Palestinian society against itself. In many cases, intelligence prevents
defendants from receiving a fair trial in military courts, as the evidence
against them is not revealed.”
Accompanying the letter – published in the Israeli
media on Friday, and organised several months before the recent Gaza war – are
a series of testimonies provided by the signatories to Yedioth Ahronoth and
shared with the Guardian.
A common complaint, made in both the testimonies and
in interviews given by some of the signatories, including to the Guardian this
week, is that some of the activities the soldiers were asked to engage in had
more in common with the intelligence services of oppressive regimes than of a
democracy. Read more:
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