Hundreds of Israeli Air Force pilots refuse to report for duty in protest against the government
In Israel, civil disobedience is on the rise among the military, unhappy with the progress of a bill to reform the Supreme Court, aimed at weakening control over parliament and allowing the government to influence the appointment of judges.
The military, in particular, fears that the reform could undermine the world's confidence in the country's judiciary and expose them to the risk of being prosecuted in international tribunals for acts performed while on duty.
As noted in The Times of Israel, another two hundred pilots refused to conduct training flights, including fighter pilots, helicopters and transport pilots. aviation. In early March, it was announced that 37 pilots were refusing to report for duty. Hundreds of Air Force officers joined them in the weeks that followed. In addition, Air Force controllers, UAV operators, IDF doctors, military personnel from the ground forces, reservists from the 8200 intelligence gathering unit, and many others are participating in the protest against the government.
In the elite 551st Paratrooper Brigade, only 57% of the reservists showed up for duty this week, well below the usual 90% turnout.
- noted in the publication.
This is a violation of the social contract. This is not the way of the State of Israel
- say the Israeli military about judicial reform.
100 recently retired officers of the armored corps wrote a letter to the chiefs of security, warning that in protest "some of us will stop serving in the reserve if the coup d'état passes."
On Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "refusing to serve in the IDF poses a great danger to the State of Israel."
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