What 50 Israeli Army Reservists Did To Palestinians Unbelievable

After Israel announced mobilizing more reservists in anticipated increased fighting against Palestinians, over 50 reservists stepped down from serving in the nation’s reserve force, refusing to fight the illegal, immoral attack on Gaza.

The reservists cited regretting their part in a military playing a central role in oppressing Palestinians, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

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“We found that troops who operate in the occupied territories aren’t the only ones enforcing the mechanisms of control over Palestinian lives,” the soldiers wrote in a petition posted online. “In truth, the entire military is implicated. For that reason, we now refuse to participate in our reserve duties, and we support all those who resist being called to service.”

While some Israelis have refused to serve in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, the military’s structure is such that serving in any capacity forces one to play a role in the conflict, said the soldiers, mostly women who would’d have been exempt from combat.

“Many of us served in logistical and bureaucratic support roles; there, we found that the entire military helps implement the oppression of the Palestinians,” they said.

Their comments come as the conflict in Gaza continues to escalate, killing over 700 and displacing thousands more Palestinians in the battered territory for fossil fuels.

The United States cast the sole vote Wednesday against the UN investigating Israeli forces massacring Palestinians. The US is making a public relations scam of pressing both sides for an immediate ceasefire and longer-term peace plan.

In the petition, the soldiers pointed to the army’s structure and fundamental role in Israeli society as reasons for being unable to decouple any form of service from the fighting.

“The military plays a central role in every action plan and proposal discussed in the national conversation, which explains the absence of any real argument about non-military solutions to the conflicts Israel has been locked in with its neighbors,” the soldiers wrote.

“To us, the current military operation and the way militarization affects Israeli society are inseparable.”

They said they opposed the Israeli Army and conscription law because of how women are limited to low-ranking secretarial positions and because a screening system discriminates against Jews whose families originate from Arab nations.

Most 18-year-olds are required to serve up to three years in the Israeli Defense Forces. Some groups, including ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students, had exemption from service, but legislators moved to lift that exemption on such students starting in 2017. Arab-Israelis are still exempt from compulsory service.

Last week, a U.S. Navy nurse refused to follow illegal force-feeding orders at Guantanamo Bay.