Dozens of reserve soldiers from Israel's top electronic surveillance unit say they will no longer spy on Palestinians living under occupation, in an unprecedented rebuke to prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu's security policies.
A protest letter signed by 43 veterans of Unit 8200, sent to Mr Netanyahu and armed forces chiefs and excerpted by Israel's biggest-selling newspaper today, was dismissed by the military as a publicity stunt by a small fringe.
Criticising eavesdropping on Palestinians and the role such espionage plays in setting up air strikes that have often inflicted civilian casualties, the move opened a window on clandestine practices.
It also tapped into wider international debate over the ethics of state surveillance following last year's media leaks by Edward Snowden, a former contractor with the National Security Agency (NSA), the US counterpart to Unit 8200.
"We refuse to take part in actions against Palestinians and refuse to continue serving as a tool for deepening military rule in the occupied (Palestinian) territories," Yedioth Ahronoth daily quoted the letter as saying.
“Intelligence allows ongoing control over millions of people, thorough and intrusive monitoring and invasion into most aspects of life. All of this does not allow for normal living, fuels more violence and puts off any end to the conflict.”
No signatories' names were published but several were interviewed anonymously by Yedioth and by Israel's Army Radio. They complained about what they described as the abusive gathering of Palestinians' private information such as sexual preferences or health problems "that might be used to extort people into becoming informants".