Israeli soldiers from elite wire-tapping unit refuse to use ‘extortion’, ‘blackmail’ on Palestinians

Israel’s intelligence corps has been rocked by a major internal protest over the treatment of Palestinians.

More than 40 former soldiers and current army reservists have signed a letter refusing future service in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) military intelligence wing, known as Unit 8200.

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These include gathering personal information about a person’s sexual preference and using it to blackmail the individual into becoming a collaborator - a Palestinian who hands information to Israeli authorities.

“Any information that might enable extortion of an individual is considered relevant information,” one soldier’s statement said.

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“The notion of rights for Palestinians does not exist at all, not even as an idea to be disregarded,” one witness statement said.

“Any Palestinian may be targeted and may suffer from sanctions, such as the denial of permits, harassment, extortion, or even direct physical injury.”