The israeli Musta’rabs ( Musta'arabien ).
Over the past years, especially during the last two years, the Musta’rabs carried out several assassination operations, concentrated in the governorates of Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus, and other governorates, often disguised in civilian clothing and driving civilian vehicles, according to what was reported by the Israeli News and Information Agency.
The name of the unit is derived from the Arabic word "Musta'arabien", which means those who live among the Arabs. Israeli Musta'rabien are special forces who disguise themselves as Arabs and work within Arab communities to accomplish their missions.
The Musta'rabs know the customs and etiquette of Arab society, and speak the Arabic language fluently. Many of them participated in public demonstrations. They may support the protests as if they were demonstrators, and support the demands of the protesters, but in reality they are secret Israeli agents.
Musta'rabs are selected for their physical appearance similar to Arabs, undergo a comprehensive training process, complete courses on Palestinian social and religious customs, Arab language and culture, and participate in field and operational training, according to what was reported.
In 1952, the prevailing perception within the Israeli defense establishment was that “the Arab armies would invade Israel sooner or later,” so it was decided to establish the Musta’rab unit in the Shin Bet (the Internal Security Agency), as it was believed to be at the forefront of covert operations established against Palestinian militants, according to MEDIUM platform
But before that, Israel formed the Haganah from which the Palmach emerged in 1941, which served as SS units at the time.
Among the "Palmah" were the secret Musta'rab squads (known at the time as the Arab Platoon), which wore Arab uniforms and were used to secretly transport weapons and equipment.
This unit was headed by Shmuel Sami Moriah, one of the senior Shin Bet officials at the time. He is an Iraqi Jew and has experience in bringing Iraqi Jews to Israel. He underwent his unit training for about a full year, during which they learned the Palestinian dialect and memorized surahs and verses. From the Holy Qur’an, they mastered espionage techniques at an intelligence base near the city of Ramla, and each one of them was provided with a new personal card and an innovative, detailed story of his life as a cover, and they were sent to Arab villages and cities.
They disguised themselves as Palestinian “infiltrators” who returned to their homeland after the Nakba, and integrated well into their new environment, and their families in “Israel” were not aware of the missions they were carrying out.
Most of the unit's members decided to marry Arab girls, without knowing their true identity, because this marriage made their mission easier, after they identified themselves as Arab Muslims. Over the years, it became clear that the intelligence benefit from the unit's existence was not great, and it was decided in the end to dismantle it. Then the truth about its members was revealed, and their families were transferred to Jewish areas.
Mike