'Stay woke': Palestinians launch campaign to counter Israeli intelligence recruitment

Palestinians have launched a campaign to raise awareness about the tactics and methods Israel uses to obtain information about Palestinian people.

The campaign, dubbed "stay awake", has been initiated by activists as well as information security experts.

Muhammad Abu Harbid, a community awareness and media expert, said the campaign is part of efforts to counter the Israeli occupation forces’ manoeuvres to influence Palestinian society, news website Arabi21 cited him as saying.

"The wider the scope of awareness is, the less effective the enemy’s means are," said Abu Harbid.

The Palestinian digital expert said the campaign is still at its embryonic stage, asserting that it will be gradual.

The campaign would start with social media activities to wind up with meetings with elite and influential people as well as coordinating with Palestine’s official media, he said.

"We mustn’t leave the space empty for the attacker, we have to counter them" said Abu Harbid added.

Military and security affairs researcher Rami Abu Zubaida said Israelis take advantage of unemployment and poverty rife in the occupied territories to recruit collaborators and spies.

"The occupation exploits the naivety of some youths – driven by acquaintance, knowledge and inquisitiveness – and uses social media and mobile phone messages to trap people," he said.

The unemployment rate in the Gaza and West Bank continues to rise. In 2018, It reached 30.8 percent, which is 2.4 percentage points higher than its average in 2017, according to the World Bank.

Abu Zubaida said Israeli agents collect information on Palestinian youths, under the guise of social researchers promising economic assistance.

He said Israel also resorts to deceit to this end, through institutions, organisations and events that have goals different from what they pretend in reality.

"Most of the targeted recruits don’t know they are being recruited to serve the occupation. They work hard and diligently," Abu Zubaida said, warning of interacting with dubious calls and sharing private information, mainly information on the Palestinian resistance.

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