Israel's intelligence corps has been rocked by a major internal protest over the treatment of Palestinians.
A new air force military cargo plane flies with Israeli military planes over Israeli flags in April 2014. Photo: AFP
More than 40 former soldiers and current army reservists have signed a letter refusing future service in the Israeli Defence Force military intelligence wing, known as Unit 8200, the BBC reports.
Unit 8200 is often compared to America's National Security Agency.
It uses sophisticated technology to monitor the lives of Palestinians, gathering information which is then used by Israel's military. It also carries out surveillance overseas.
But the group of soldiers who served in the unit has spoken out about the methods used and the toll they take on innocent civilians in the occupied Palestinian territories.
In witness testimonies, they detailed the strategies used by Israel's elite intelligence corps.
These include gathering personal information about a person's sexual preference and using it to blackmail the individual into becoming a collaborator.
Israel's military said it held the unit to ethical standards "without rival".
Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967. It pulled its troops and settlers out of Gaza in 2005, though the UN still regards Gaza as under Israeli occupation.
