Israeli officers denounce operations against Palestinians

Tel Aviv, Sep 13 (IANS/EFE) Dozens of veterans of the Israel Defence Forces' (IDF) electronic intelligence service have said they will no longer take part in operations against Palestinians.

In a letter in possession with EFE news agency Friday, 43 members of Unit 8200 accused the IDF of ignoring the rights of Palestinians and of spying on innocent people to blackmail individuals and provoke division among Palestinian population.

"We refuse to take part in actions against Palestinians and refuse to continue serving as a tool for deepening military rule in the occupied territories," the document said.

The letter was signed by 43 officers and addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, army chief Benny Gantz, and head of military intelligence Aviv Kochavi.

"The Palestinian people under the military government are fully exposed to espionage and surveillance by Israeli intelligence," the Unit 8200 veterans said.

"There is no distinction between Palestinians involved in violence and those who are not," the officers wrote, adding that information obtained through phone tape and other forms of monitoring "is used for political persecution, to create division among Palestinians, recruiting collaborators".

--IANS/EFE

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