Middle East Monitor / January 1, 2022
The Israeli occupation army has closed Hatzav, a major intelligence unit specializing in monitoring mass media in the Arab world, Akka News website revealed on Friday.
The Hatzav intelligence-gathering unit is subordinate to the Israeli Intelligence Corps unit of the Israel occupation forces, which is responsible for collecting signal intelligence and code decryption.
In the past, Hatzav focused on monitoring newspapers, radio and television in the Arab world, but recently it shifted its focus to monitoring social media, including Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.
The unit also formerly monitored online forums to obtain information that could support intelligence insight.
No comments have yet emerged about the report from Israeli officials, but Israeli media has previously reported plans to close the intelligence unit.
