JERUSALEM
Scores of reserve soldiers in Israel's top electronic surveillance unit have refused to wiretap Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.
In a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and army chiefs, some 43 reserve soldiers of Unit 8200 said that they refuse to perform any military tasks that would consolidate the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, Israeli Radio reported.
They argued that information collected by their unit is being used to pile pressure on Palestinian civilians to recruit them to spy for Israel.
Established 1952, Unit 8200 is the largest army unit responsible for intelligence gathering.
The move comes two weeks following a seven-week Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which killed at least 2,156 Palestinians and injured nearly 11,000 others, mostly civilians.
At least 72 Israelis – 67 soldiers and five civilians – were killed in the onslaught, according to Israeli figures.
The offensive, launched with the stated aim of halting rocket fire from Gaza, ended with the announcement on August 26 of an open-ended cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions.
By Anees Barghouthy
englishnews@aa.com.tr
www.aa.com.tr/en
