Veterans of Israel's elite Unit 8200 denounce its conscientious objectors
Scores of veterans of elite Israeli intelligence unit 8200 rallied to its defence after 43 comrades said they would no longer take part in its "injustices" against millions of Palestinians.
Scores of veterans of elite Israeli intelligence unit 8200 rallied to its defence after 43 comrades said they would no longer take part in its "injustices" against millions of Palestinians.
The open letter, sent to Israel's political and military leadership last week, was one of the most high-profile expressions of conscientious objection in years.
The signatories - reservists and former members of Unit 8200 - said the intelligence collected by the unit "was an integral part of Israel's military occupation", and that they would refuse to continue to serve.
They charged that information gathered by the unit - which does work similar to that done by the US National Security Agency - was used by civilian intelligence agencies to coerce Palestinians uninvolved in militant activity, and urged other members of the intelligence corps "to speak out against these injustices and to take action to bring them to an end".
But in a letter of reply on Sunday, 200 veterans of the unit denounced their former comrades' refusal to serve.
"Political refusal to serve has no place anywhere, and particularly so in Unit 8200. The moment we, as soldiers in the reserves, are called to the flag, we set aside our political inclinations and opinions, and come to serve the state."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said any form of refusing military service was "condemnable", calling the refuseniks' move "political" and based on "unfounded accusations". "This is unacceptable," Netanyahu said.
Commentators said that the fact that the refuseniks were members of one of Israel's most prestigious military units made their conscientious objection all the more remarkable.
