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By AFP12:31PM BST 12 Sep 2014
Forty-three reservists from Israel's elite army intelligence unit have announced their refusal to serve, accusing the military of "abuses" against Palestinians, in a letter published on Friday. The letter, circulated to Hebrew-language media, referred to the army's intelligence work in the occupied Palestinian territories, including targeted assassinations and intrusive surveillance of civilians.
The soldiers and officers from the elite Unit 8200, which works closely with Israel's security services, declared they no longer wanted to "continue to serve in this system, which harms the rights of millions of people," according to an Israeli newspaper.
"We call all soldiers serving in the unit or who are going to serve, and all Israeli citizens to make their voices heard against these abuses and work to put a stop to it," Yediot Aharonot quoted the letter as saying.
It was initially written before the July-August Gaza war, but the letter also slammed the lack of public discourse over the high number of Palestinian civilians killed during that conflict.

Israeli media outlets were criticised for giving scant attention to Palestinian civilian deaths, which according to the UN made up 70 percent of the death toll of more than 2,100.
The 43 reservists said that they will turn down their yearly call-up to the army, risking arrest and court martial. All Israeli men do three years of military service after school, and women two years, with an option to stay on

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...ers-refuse-to-fight-against-Palestinians.html

"There is an idea that serving in the intelligence corps does not include moral dilemmas, and only contributes to the lessening of violence and harm to innocents," wrote the insubordinate soldiers in their letter. "But during our military service we learned that the intelligence corps is an inseparable part of the military control of the territories (Judea and Samaria - ed.)."

According to the soldiers, the Arab residents of the region are "completely exposed" to Israeli spying and surveillance, adding "as opposed to Israeli citizens of citizens of other countries, there's no oversight on methods of (intel) gathering, surveillance and use of information in regards to Palestinians, whether they're involved in violence or not."

"The intelligence (corps) allows continued control over millions of people, a deep and penetrating supervision and invasion of (privacy in) most aspects of life. All of this does not allow a normal life, fuels more violence, and distances the end of the conflict," claimed the signatories.

IDF counters the claims

In response to the letter, the IDF Spokesperson Unit noted "Unit 8200 has worked from the day of its formation to gather intel, which allows the IDF and security sources to fulfill their missions, and on a daily basis aids in the protection of citizens of the state of Israel."

"The Unit acts through a variety of means and on many fronts, while using methods and rules aimed solely at the necessities of intelligence," added the statement, responding to the claims of invading privacy in numerous aspects of daily life.

The statement added "those serving in the Unit are certified after a strict identification process, in training that has no equal in the intelligence community in Israel and abroad, during which contents learned with a special emphasis on ethics, values and work regulations are imprinted."

"These are implemented effectively through the military service of the soldiers and captains in the Unit, and are overseen through constant inspection by commanders of different rankings," said the statement.

The statement noted that Unit 8200 has received great praise, through various military awards and prizes.

Sending the insubordination letter to the Israeli media before turning to their commanders or relevant IDF sources with the complaints hints at a lack of seriousness to the claims, added the IDF Spokesperson Unit statement.

In particular, it noted "regarding the claims about harming innocents, the process of approving targets in the IDF is long and strict, and also takes those not involved into account."

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/185033#.VBLqk_mSySo
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.615498
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140912/43-israeli-soldiers-protest-abuses-palestinians

Can't say i'm surprised the IDF could be spying on the Palestinians to this extent, but I am suprised about these soldiers coming out and making this letter public.

 

[Arkos]

Neat. Good for them.

 

[RS4-]

I hope they gain more support.

 

[EVOL 100%]

These guys have balls of steel

 

[Always-honest]

Hmn.. that's a good sign imo.

 

[Akuun]

I fear for what might happen to these soldiers for speaking up.

 

[Dali]

The response from the idf only seems to bolster the credibility of those speaking out, lol. You vet your operatives to an extent greater than any other agency and even they can't back you?

 

[Dreams-Visions]

I wish them good luck. They will be jailed for a very long time. Hopefully the people can make their sacrifice worth it.

 

[Paskil]

Damn Jewish anti-semites. How dare they declare their hatred for Israel.

Spoiler

/s

 

[enewtabie]

Yeah not reporting for the call up is going to be jail time.

 

[Agent Icebeezy]

This was awesome to read.

 

[Jonm1010]

Hopefully this gets the ball rolling toward a larger discussion and they can recruit some more people to their side. It has to be tough knowing you likely face possible jail time and widespread backlash.

I have to say I never knew the extent to which Israel was spying on Palestenians, or the lax rules on it, but it's frankly not all that shocking.

 

[Deleted member 125677]

I have so much respect for these guys and their decision. True heroes!

 

[yarden24]

I fear for what might happen to these soldiers for speaking up.

I wish them good luck. They will be jailed for a very long time. Hopefully the people can make their sacrifice worth it.

they will at most be in jail for 2-4 months, more then likely they will not get jail time at all and just be dismissed from active duty.

 

[Ingueferroque]

The IDF is just another terrorist organization to me.

 

[victreeb3l]

Thats very brave of them. Hopefully this will motivate others to speak out against atrocities committed by the Israeli government. I also hope these soldiers dont get punished or have something bad happen to them.

 

[Gordon Shumway]

Wow. I mean, good on them..but ain't this a dangerous thing for then to do?

 

[Jay Sosa]

Wisdom comes with age

 

[Anton Sugar]

Brave and beautiful. Good for them.

 

[Azih]

These guys are heroes. The media will give it at best a token mention and never speak of it again and the story will fade. Then it'll be back to "THE IDF IS THE MOST ETHICAL ARMY IN THE WORRRRLLLD THO."

 

[Grimm Fandango]

It's a good start.

 

[Jonm1010]

These guys are heroes. The media will give it at best a token mention and never speak of it again and the story will fade. Then it'll be back to "THE IDF IS THE MOST ETHICAL ARMY IN THE WORRRRLLLD THO."

It is interesting how the usual suspects never show up in these threads showing Israel clearly being guilty of some abhorrent things. But the moment things heat back up between Israel and Palestine a handful of posters come out of the woodworks and defend Israel as this righteous actor and Palestinians being the sole roadblock to their own peace.

 

[Lamel]

That's good to hear, it seemed like the entire Israeli army didn't give a single fuck about Palestinian lives. However I am sure they will easily find 43 to replace them.

 

[Jonm1010]

That's good to hear, it seemed like the entire Israeli army didn't give a single fuck about Palestinian lives. However I am sure they will easily find 43 to replace them.

Well yeah, you have to join if you're a citizen. But I get your larger point.

 

[Chichikov]

Good on them, not the first, won't be the last. #NotAllIsraelis

Spoiler

Though calling 8200 members 'elite soldiers' is a bit funny, but whatever, not the point.

 

[LNBL]

These guys are heroes. The media will give it at best a token mention and never speak of it again and the story will fade. Then it'll be back to "THE IDF IS THE MOST ETHICAL ARMY IN THE WORRRRLLLD THO."

Oh boy, you should read the comments under the the article

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/185033#.VBMV__mSySp

 

[Lamel]

Oh boy, you should read the comments under the the article

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/185033#.VBMV__mSySp

Shoot them anyway.
Even if they were exiled they would use their knowledge and training against Israel. Prison is a waste of resources.
They knew what 'specialist military activities' meant when they 'picked it up'.
As for a blatant attempt to demoralise the IDF, the only response is traditional. Shoot them.

Yikes...

 

[capslock]

So are these the anti-semites or the self-hating jews?

 

[Messofanego]

Go Unit 8200 go Unit go!

 

[Espada]

Damn, this is very brave of them to make a stand against this. These are folks privy to what's going on over there, so their damning observations matter that much more. They touched on something that is often glossed over: The lack of public discourse in Israel over the abuses suffered by Palestinians. The Israeli government is ultimately to blame, but these soldiers are right in saying that the public needs to light a fire under their asses to make change happen.

 

[Chichikov]

Oh boy, you should read the comments under the the article

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/185033#.VBMV__mSySp

Couth yourself lucky that you can't read Hebrew...

 

[Lamel]

Couth yourself lucky that you can't read Hebrew...

Is it possible to get a translation just out of curiosity? Usually the uttermost vile people show up on these comments section.