The Elite Israeli Special Forces Unit Mista' arvim

Mista'arvim is the name given to counter-terrorism units of the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Border Police, and Israel Police who operate undercover. Asaf Hefet'z, the former Israeli Police Commissioner, is considered the creator of this group as well as Unit Gideonim (Unit 33) which are the Israeli Police (IP) elite intelligence oriented undercover unit. The unit was formed in 1994 in order to conduct Counter Terror (CT) intelligence gathering in the East Jerusalem region, as well as to fight hard core crime in the area.

Such units are specifically trained to assimilate among the local Arab population. They are commonly tasked with performing intelligence gathering, law enforcement, hostage rescue and counter-terrorism, and to use disguise and surprise as their main weapons. The name is derived from the Arabic "Musta'arabi", meaning "those who live among the Arabs"