43 ’Israeli’ Reservists Refuse to Serve, Protest Spying ’Abuses’ Against Palestinians

Local Editor

Forty-three reservists from "Israel's" elite army intelligence unit have announced their refusal to serve, accusing the military of spying "abuses" against Palestinians, in a letter published on Friday.

The letter, circulated to Hebrew-language media, referred to the army's intelligence work in the occupied Palestinian territories, including targeted assassinations and intrusive spying on civilians.

The soldiers and officers from the elite Unit 8200, which works closely with "Israel's" security services, declared they no longer wanted to "continue to serve in this system, which harms the rights of millions of people," according to daily Yediot Aharonot.

"We call all soldiers serving in the unit or who are going to serve, and all "Israeli" "citizens" to make their voices heard against these abuses and work to put a stop to it," the paper quoted the letter as saying.

The letter was initially written before the recent July-August "Israeli" aggression on seized Gaza, but it also slammed the lack of public discourse over the high number of Palestinian civilians martyred during that conflict.

"Israeli" media outlets were criticized for giving scant attention to Palestinian civilian martyrdom, which according to the UN made up 70 percent of the martyr toll of more than 2,100.

Moreover, the 43 reservists said that they will turn down their yearly call-up to the "Israeli" army, risking arrest and court martial.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team