ISRAELI ARMY DISMISSES UNIT 8200 RESERVISTS OVER REFUSAL TO ASSIST INTEI-GATHERING ON PALESTINIANS

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06530913
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: March 3, 2017
• Case Number: F-2016-01162
• Publication Date: January 26, 2015

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CITE OSC RESTON VA 749325
WARNING: TOPIC: INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL, MILITARY
SERIAL:L1N2015012669062364
BODY
COUNTRY: GAZA STRIP, ISRAEL, WEST BANK
SUBJ: (U) ISRAELI ARMY DISMISSES UNIT 8200 RESERVISTS OVER REFUSAL
To Assist Intel-Gathering on Palestinians
REF: 1. Israel: Unit 8200 Reservists Refuse To Assist Intel-Gathering
on Palestinians; IDF Rejects Charges LIL2014091256055242 The Times of
Israel English 0749 GMT 12 Sep 14 (U)
SOURCE: Jerusalem The Jerusalem Post Online in
English 1416 GMT 26
Jan 15 (U)
TEXT:
[ (U) Report by Ya'agov Lappin: "IDF Dismisses Unit 8200 Reservists
Who Refused To Serve in Palestinian Territories"]
[INTERNET]
[OSC Transcribed Text]
(U) This product may contain copyrighted material; authorized use is
for national security purposes of the United States Government only.
Any reproduction, dissemination, or use is subject to the OSC usage
policy and the original copyright.
The IDF dismissed 43 reservists from Military Intelligence's Unit
6200 on Monday, after concluding that a letter they sent to the media
last year, expressing their refusal to go on serving, constituted a
grave breach of the military code of conduct.
In a statement explaining the decision, the IDF Spokesman said: "Unit
8200 has, since its founding, gathered intelligence that allows the
IDF and security bodies to carry out their missions. It assists them
on a daily basis in protecting the citizens of the state of Israel.
In any instance in which a soldier or commander raises moral or
ethical doubts in carrying his duties or missions, he is obligated to
turn to his commanders, and all requests will be examined and
answered."
"There is no room for refusing orders in the IDF. We take a severe
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view of the exploitation of military service (by the letter's
signatories) to express a political opinion. In light of the conduct
of the reserves, which is not in line with what is expected of them,
we have decided to end their reserves service in the unit."
In September 2014, members of the unit, which collects signal
intelligence, published a letter declaring their refusal to serve,
due what they said were a series of breaches of proper conduct in the
unit's activities in the West Bank and Gaza.
The letter, addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief
of Staff Lt.-Gen, Benny Gantz, and then head of the IDF's
intelligence branch, Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi, decried "the main
function of 8200 in the territories, which is to control another
nation."
"The intelligence that is gathered (in the West Bank) harms innocent
people and is used for the purposes of political persecution and
violating the privacy of Palestinians," the letter, which commented
only on the unit's activities in the Palestinian territories, read.
"We are conscientiously incapable of continuing to serve this
system."
The IDF rejected the claims outright at the time of the letter's
publication. "The Unit operates through a range of means and in many
arenas, while activating techniques and rules for intelligence
purposes only. Those who serve in the unit are trained, after a
lengthy and meticulous process, and undergo a program that has no
equivalent in any other intelligence community in Israel or the
world. During the training, a special emphasis is placed on the field
of ethics, morality, and working rules. These are applied throughout
the service of the soldiers and officers in the unit, who are
continuously monitored by commanders of various ranks," the military
said.
The fact that those who wrote the letter spoke to the media "before
speaking to their commanders, or to the relevant officers in the IDF,
is strange and raises doubts about the seriousness of the claims,"
the statement continued. "Regarding claims that innocents are harmed,
the process of authorizing targets in the IDF is long and meticulous,
and takes into account the issue of noncombatants." Last year, the
Commander of Unit 8200, Brig.-Gen. A. (full name withheld), sent a
letter to members of the unit, saying any problems should be brought
IT with superior officers, not in the media. He provided an example
of an officer who had a moral dilemma and reported it to his
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commanders, who successfully helped him deal with the issue.
Responding to the letter, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said
following its publication that the unit's officers and soldiers "do
holy work, night and day, in an awe-inspiring manner, with
extraordinary creativity and dedication. Unit 8200 perpetuates the
existence of the state of Israel. The attempt to harm it and its
activities, through calling for a refusal to serve, is based on
claims that do not match the path of the unit and the path of its
personnel. This is a foolish and offensive attempt which aids
campaigns of fraudulent de-legitimization in the world against the
state of Israel and IDF soldiers, who are innocent of wrongdoing."
[Description of Source: Jerusalem The Jerusalem Post Online in
English -- Website of right-of-center, independent daily; URL:
http://www.jpost.co.11/]
(U) This product may contain copyrighted material; authorized use is
for national security purposes of the United States Government only.
Any reproduction, dissemination, or use is subject to the OSC usage
policy and the original copyright.
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