Israel is facing internal tensions as reservists demand a hostage deal. Some 250 reservists from Unit 8200, the IDF’s SIGINT unit, have supported an air force petition calling for a hostage deal in Gaza, even if it means stopping the war.
Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned the initiative, calling it foreign-funded propaganda, and vowed to fire those promoting insubordination. The Israeli air force said the active-duty signatories would be removed from service. The petition argued that war serves political interests and endangers both hostages and soldiers. Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned that Israel is closer than ever to civil war, accusing Netanyahu of undermining state institutions and the Supreme Court.
Air Force Commander Tomer Bar spoke out against the message in the letter from the approximately 1,000 Air Force reservists: “There is no place for this in wartime… anyone who signs interception or denial messages will not be recalled to the reserve.”
Reserve General Ariel Hayman, now at the Institute of National Security Studies: “It was clear to me that the Chief of Staff and the Air Force Commander would not be able to prevent the publication of the pilots’ message calling for an end to the war and the return of the prisoners, and that their dismissal would only lead to their arrival. Only an hour after the dismissal was announced, I received an invitation to sign a petition from reserve soldiers serving in armored arms. A few hours later, I learned of a similar petition from the Navy, and now military doctors are also signing a similar letter. Will those who continue to serve actually be dismissed? It is difficult to say whether this event has ended or whether the protest of the reserve soldiers will continue to intensify. I believe that if the military-political situation persists and the failure to recover the prisoners continues, we will see more protests of this kind.”
According to the Hebrew News Square website: The IDF’s Air Force leader quoted the new rejection message: “We will not tolerate the weakening of the IDF during a historic war.”
Signatories of the petition to the IDF protesting the continuation of the war held a new conference and said: “The story of the petition we signed has become bigger and more dramatic than we expected. The problem is not the Air Force or the pilots, but rather the 59 Israeli prisoners, who we believe must be returned now, even if the price to pay is to stop the war, and this is the opinion of the majority of the IDF.”
According to Channel 12: “Nearly 2,000 academics from higher education institutions joined Air Force personnel and signed a petition calling for an end to the war in Gaza and the return of the hostages.” Their statement reads: “At this time, war primarily serves political and personal interests, not security interests. As has been proven in the past, only an agreement can ensure the safe return of hostages, while military pressure primarily leads to the death of hostages and endangers our soldiers.”
Antonio Albanese e Graziella Giangiulio
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