Thousands of veterans protest against the war

« It is clear that the reboot of the war has political reasons and does not have security reasons, » Guy Poran, a retired previous pilot in the Israeli Air Force, told the AP.

He is one of the nearly 1,000 reservists in the Air Force who signed a letter of protest this week, where they criticize the Israeli government’s decision to continue the war and bombings of the Gaza Strip.

The military leadership struck back by dismissing everyone who signed, but then the protests have grown in strength.

Partly has around 10,000 reservists and veterans within various branches of the military and the security system signed similar protests. On the one hand, they have been supported by tens of thousands of Israelis in other parts of society in similar letters.

Israel broke the ceasefire with Hamas on March 18 and about 1,700 people are reported to have been killed in the continued attacks.

According to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it was necessary to continue the war to get the Palestinian Islamist movement to bring with it and release hostages. Many, even relatives of kidnapped, say that the hostage is exposed to greater danger on the contrary.

About 10,000 militarily active people have joined the resistance in the military joints. However, the protests are not followed by threats to refuse duty. A large majority of the signing have retired.

A military source who has requested anonymity to be able to speak freely to AP, says that the protests are taken seriously internally. He points out that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get summoned reservists to show up.

The military leadership is facing a dilemma, according to Eran Duvdevani, which caused 2,500 former paratroopers to sign a protest letter:

– If it continues to release the pilots, how will all the others have signed the letters? Should they also be discharged from service?

Benjamin Netanyah’s governmentwho stands and falls with ultranationalist support parties, is reported to have linked a clearer ideological grip on a military who has long served as a unifying force in Israeli society.

About 40 percent of all newly graduated officers come from Orthodox and nationalist minority groups, military historian Yoram Peri told the magazine The New Yorker.

Netanyahus rockades in the army line follow the same pattern, according to Peri:

– A professional, secular army is not their goal. Nor a secular democratic society.