Israel intel-linked centre smears Palestinian protesters as 'terrorists'

A research centre linked to the Israeli intelligence has claimed that 80 per cent of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces during protests in the occupied Gaza Strip were “terrorist operatives or individuals affiliated with them”, while acknowledging that its analysis used “circumstantial evidence”.

In a new report published this week, the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre claims that 32 of 40 Palestinians killed since 30 March “were terrorist operatives or individuals affiliated with the terrorist organisations”.

However, a close examination of the full report reveals that the centre counted as “terrorists” individuals who were merely members of political organisations such as Fatah.

Even more shockingly, the centre also included 14-year-old Mohammad Ayoub and 13-year-old Hussein Madi as part of the terrorist-linked group of fatalities. Ayoub and Madi are among four children shot dead by Israeli snipers over the past month.

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The centre admitted in its own “methodological note” that its list of “terrorists” include Palestinians with a mere “link” based on “circumstantial evidence”. It has also smeared slain Palestinian journalist Yaser Murtaja as a “terrorist operative”.

As the Jerusalem Post recently reported, the centre “has ongoing connections to current military intelligence and is filled with top former Israeli intelligence officials”.

According to Israeli security correspondent Yossi Melman, the centre became a “pipeline” for “information and assessments that the Military Intelligence research division does not want directly associated with it”, noting that critics see the centre as “a propaganda body”.

The centre has previously acknowledge that “it receives some Israeli government financing”.