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The Israeli military operates a special unit known as the “Legitimization Cell” that exists to create propaganda justifying the military’s targeting of civilian infrastructure and civilians, particularly journalists, in order to ensure that Israel maintains its legitimacy on the world stage, an investigation finds.

According to a 972 Magazine and Local Call investigation published Thursday, the Legitimization Cell is a public relations unit that is tasked with finding a narrative to create cover for some of the most highly criticized actions by Israel’s military.

“If the global media is talking about Israel killing innocent journalists, then immediately there’s a push to find one journalist who might not be so innocent — as if that somehow makes killing the other 20 acceptable,” an Israeli intelligence source told journalist Yuval Abraham.

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“The idea was to [allow the military to] operate without pressure, so countries like America wouldn’t stop supplying weapons,” another Israeli source said.

Observers have seen this pattern play out numerous times, including in the recent assassination of famous Gaza journalist Anas Al-Sharif, who

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