In response to the letter sent to IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other senior IDF commanders by 43 reservists in the elite 8200 intelligence unit, explaining their need to be insubordinate, over 200 members of the unit announced they will continue serving proudly in the unit. The letter details they can no longer be a part of the IDF occupational force that runs the lives of PA (Palestinian Authority) residents.

In response to their releasing the letter to the media, over 200 members of the elite Intelligence Corps unit released an opposing letter, expressing outrage, confirming their allegiance to the IDF, the unit and national security.

The letter from the insubordinates, left-wingers, was signed by soldiers and officers who currently serve in the unit in reserve duty of have in the past. They lament that there are no safeguards in place regarding the IDF’s investigating, collecting and using intelligence data on PA residents. They also oppose turning some residents into collaborators, manipulating them based on information gathered.

The letter from the insubordinates was blasted by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee Intelligence Subcommittee Chairman MK Yariv Levin. Senior Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad, a retired IDF major-general, lamented the insubordinate’s letter, which he feels compromised the position of the many soldiers serving in military intelligence. He stated the allegations in the letter of the insubordinates are not accurate.

The signatories of the letter of over 200 members of the unit pledge to continue serving in the unit with pride, well aware of the service they are doing for their country.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)