Soldiers from the elite Unit 8200 say they don't want to serve in a system that 'harms the rights of millions'
Dozens of reserve officers in Unit 8200 — the unit of Israel’s Military Intelligence agency (Aman) that specializes in intercepting communications — have declared in a letter published Friday they refuse to continue and serve because of the way the army uses some of the information they obtain during their routine duties.
A joint letter from 43 mid-rank officers and sergeants (including one Major) stated that they would not carry out their assigned duties anymore because some of the information Unit 8200 harvests, largely by listening in on Palestinians' phone calls, has to do with those Palestinians' health or their sexual orientation.
Moreover, the officers said, these personal pieces of intelligence are then handed over to the Shin Bet (Israel's domestic security services).
In the letter, circulated to Hebrew-language media, the officers also complained that information gleaned from Unit 8200 signals intelligence (sigint) is used for the execution of targeted assassinations and intrusive surveillance of civilians, saying innocent Palestinians have been killed in those strikes.
"We no longer want to continue to serve in this system, which harms the rights of millions of people. 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," the letter said.
The letter was addressed to the Director of Military Intelligence Major General Aviv Kochavi, Minister of Defense Moshe Ya'alon and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Unit 8200 — formally known to its English-language foreign partners as ISNU (Israeli Sigint National Unit) — is equivalent to America’s NSA (the National Security Agency) and Britain’s GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters).
Brigadier General Hanan Gefen, former commander of the unit, said: "If I was the unit's commander I would have terminated their [protesters] service, court-marshalled them, and ask for severe punishment. They used confidential information, which they privy to during their service, to promote their political agenda."
The Israeli army issued a statement saying, "Unit 8200 has been working since its establishment on gathering intelligence that enables the army and the security services to fulfill their missions and helps defending Israel's citizens on a daily basis."
EU-NATO IMPERIALISM ❌ 