Israeli Intelligence Unit | How Reporters Become Terrorists

A week ago, Al-Jazeera reporter Anas Al-Sharif, well-known in the Arab world, died in a targeted Israeli airstrike outside a hospital in Gaza. In a statement prepared for the case, he had previously stated that a targeted army campaign against him was a precursor to his assassination. Now, insights have emerged into how such killings are actually prepared for propaganda purposes or justified after the fact.

As the Israeli-Palestinian magazine "+972" reports , the Israeli army established a new secret unit called the "Legitimization Cell" after October 7, 2023. According to research, the task of this department is not—as officially claimed—Israel's security.

The information on the "Legitimization Cell" comes from three intelligence sources, and was analyzed for "#972" by award-winning Israeli director and journalist Yuval Abraham . According to Abraham, its function is to gather material for international public relations: They are looking for anything that could justify Israel's military actions—from reports of alleged weapons caches in schools to errant Hamas rockets that then allegedly land in Gaza.

"When the international press reports on the killing of innocent journalists, the search begins for someone who may not be so innocent."

Israeli intelligence source

Above all, the unit is intended to provide evidence that can be used to portray Palestinian journalists as members of Hamas, which is also classified as a terrorist organization in the European Union. An intelligence officer describes the pattern to Abraham: As soon as criticism of killed journalists arose in the media worldwide, the "Legitimization Cell" was tasked with providing information that sowed doubts about their innocence. "When the international press reports on Israel's killing of innocent journalists, the search immediately begins for someone who might not be so innocent," the source said.

According to Abraham, the Israeli military deliberately released intelligence information to influence public opinion. Employees outside the "Legitimization Cell" were also supposed to collect material that could help Israel in its information warfare.

Following the publication of Abraham's research, unidentified sources confirmed that various "research teams" had been established within the Israeli military intelligence service over the past two years to discredit journalists as Hamas members.

Intelligence sources repeatedly admitted to "+972 Magazine" that information was deliberately distorted or misrepresented. For example, one journalist was accused of being a reporter by day and a commander by night. This later turned out to be false.

In the case of reporter Ismail Al-Ghoul, who was killed in July 2024, the army presented a document that allegedly made him a Hamas member as early as 2007 – but at that time he was only ten years old. In Al-Sharif's case, the Israeli army also published documents that purported to show him as a Hamas member from 2013 to 2017. Even if these were authentic, they would have nothing to do with his current reporting.

The work of the "Legitimization Cell" was allegedly politically motivated from the outset. Instructions on which topics the unit should focus on also came from the political leadership.

This kind of propaganda also resonates in Germany—in media outlets such as the "Taz" and the "Süddeutsche Zeitung," but especially in "Bild." Since October 7, 2023, the Springer-owned media outlet has been aggressively targeting Palestinians, categorically labeling protests against the Gaza war as "anti-Semitic," and even calling the slain al-Sharif a "terrorist." According to research, the Israeli Prime Minister's Office has had a dedicated department since 2011 to initiate such propaganda, which is solely responsible for close contacts with the Springer Group .