Reservists assigned to the elite 8200 intelligence unit have sent a letter to the prime minister and senior military commanders they refuse to comply with orders that will “harm millions of innocent Palestinians”.

In the letter they explain they are men and women who served and continue to serve in the elite Intelligence Corps unit, informing IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and others they will no longer carry out orders, explaining their opposition to serving as components of the “military occupation”.

“There is the illusion that serving in the Intelligence Corps does not include moral and ethical dilemmas and is limited to reducing violence and attacks against the innocent. During our military service we learned the intelligence unit is an integral part of the military that rules over the territories. The Palestinian population, which lives under the military [martial] law is vulnerable to Israeli spying and surveillance.

“In contrast to Israeli citizens or citizens of other nations, there is no method [governing the] collecting, tracking and use of intelligence information with respect to the Palestinians and who is or is not involved in violence. Collected stored information hurts innocent people and is used for political persecution and creates a separation among the Palestinian population by recruiting collaborators and turning a portion of the Palestinian population against itself” the letter states.

They conclude that as a result of the alarming realities as they perceive them, they are responsible for the alarming current reality as members of the 8200 unit and their conscience no longer permits them to act to serve the system that compromises the rights of millions of people. “Hence, we as members of the IDF reservists refuse to comply with certain orders against the Palestinians”.

The IDF Spokesman, Brigadier General Moti Almoz addressed the publicized letter, accusing the reservists who signed it of “abusing their military service to advance their personal political agenda”. He points out that only ten of the forty-three people who signed are actually serving in the unit. Using his Facebook page to get the message out, Almoz explained the others are serving elsewhere.

The signatories however insist that they are just in their decision, explaining to the media efforts to get some answers prior to going public were ignored.

Almoz adds “There is no place in the military for insubordination. There are differences and there are political views – a celebration of democracy. We in the IDF represent a united camp [common denominator], perhaps the largest in Israeli society and we do not express political views in forums not designed for those views.

“So what happened here in my eyes? They took advantage of the IDF to express a political opinion and we in the IDF’. We all view this with the utmost seriousness, to the highest ranking commander. We will of course address this accordingly. The disciplinary board will be loud and clear”.

Almoz then went on to praise those who serve in the elite intelligence unit while explaining he is not at liberty to really explain what they do, adding if he could, the seriousness of the letter would be clear to all.

Politicians have responded to the letter, opposed to the view expressed in the letter since it represents insubordination. This includes Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and Science Minister Yaakov Peri, with the latter being a retired director of the ISA (Israel Security Agency – Shin Bet) and a minister currently serving in the Yesh Atid party. Comments, including Edelstein’s, accuse the signatories of the letter as playing into the hands of Israel’s enemies by feeding them ammunition to use against the nation and government.

According to a Channel 10 News report, the soldiers who signed the letter will be dishonorably discharged from IDF service.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)