Israel - 43 reservists refuse to serve, protest 'abuse'

43 reservists refuse to serve, protest 'abuse' 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." http://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/43519-140912-43-reservists-refuse-to-serve-protest-abuse

This is huge.

It got coverage in The Guardian and the Israel government denied the allegations regarding bystanders.

Didn't check if it had coverage elsewhere.

'Scanalous' John Kerry phone tap news

What's the bet that the 'John Kerry's phone calls tapped' news is just a diversion ... you know, focus on the scandal instead of what's going on.

Or am I getting all weird now?  LOL

NSA spies and Israel's spies are buddies

NSA has close partnership with Israel Mon Aug 4, 2014 10:5AM New documents show a “far-reaching” collaboration between the US National Security Agency and Israeli intelligence services most of which was directed against Palestine.  The NSA "maintains a far-reaching technical and analytic relationship with the Israeli SIGINT National Unit (ISNU) sharing information on access, intercept, targeting, language, analysis and reporting," according to an NSA document dated April 13, 2013, which is among other documents revealed by The Intercept on Monday.  The documents show the US has provided Israel with cash, raw data and analysis under agreements reached between the NSA and Israeli SIGINT National Unit also known as Unit 8200, the secretive signals intelligence organization.  The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald wrote that the documents "underscore the indispensable, direct involvement of the US government and its key allies in Israeli aggression against its neighbors. That covert support is squarely at odds with the posture of helpless detachment typically adopted by Obama officials and their supporters."  The documents also show Unit 8200 along with the US, Britain and Canada attempt to collect signals from throughout the Middle East.  In 2003 and 2004, the US explored a "massively expanded intelligence-sharing relationship called 'Gladiator.'" But the Israelis demanded hundreds of millions of dollars in exchange for the project, which "appears never to have been consummated," one document shows.  The documents, however, revealed receipts for cash payments to Israel worth $500,000; though it is not clear if the receipts represent one or multiple payments, and that their precise purpose is undocumented.  ... FULL @ SOURCE ... Source - Press TV - here.

The $500,000 must be the 'petty cash' of the spy world.

The other stuff can't be that surprising. 

Everyone's in the five eye or whatever it is, so of course they're spying and sharing intelligence.