Netanyahu: ‘Reserve forces petitions funded by foreign parties aiming to bring down government’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused protest petitions demanding an end to the war on Gaza and a prisoner exchange, signed by Israeli reserve and retired officers, of being foreign-backed initiatives aimed at bringing down his government.

According to Netanyahu, these are: “The same petitions again: once in the name of pilots, once in the name of naval personnel, and once in the name of others. But the public doesn’t believe their propaganda lies in the media.”

“These letters were written not in the name of our heroic soldiers. They were written by a small handful of fringe elements—loud, anarchist and disconnected pensioners, most of whom haven’t served in years. This is not a movement. It’s not a groundswell. It’s a noisy minority backed by foreign-funded NGOs whose only goal is to bring down the right-wing government,” Netanyahu added.

Netanyahu noted: “These weeds are trying to weaken the State of Israel and the IDF and are encouraging our enemy to harm us. They already broadcast a message of weakness to our enemies once. We won’t allow them to do this again.”

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“Israeli citizens learned the lesson—a refusal to serve is a refusal to serve, no matter what dirty name they give it,” he remarked, stating, “Whoever encourages refusal will be fired immediately.”

Israeli Air Force Commander Tomer Bar told Air Force officers and soldiers who signed a public letter calling for an end to the war in Gaza that the letter: “Expresses a lack of trust and damages unity within the corps.”

“Active reservists who signed the letter will not be able to continue serving in the IDF,” he added.

Netanyahu and Bar’s comments come following a letter signed by almost 1,000 Israeli Air Force reservists and retirees, published by Israeli media on Thursday, demanding the return of Israeli captives held in Gaza, even if it means ending the war.

The letter stated: “The continuation of the war doesn’t contribute to any of the declared objectives and will lead to the death of hostages, (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers and of innocents.”

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