Israeli Air Force dismisses reservists who protested against Gaza war

The Israeli Air Force has begun the process of dismissing reservists who signed a petition opposing the continuation of the war on the Gaza Strip, Haaretz reported yesterday.

The Air Force has already informed a brigadier general in the reserves of his dismissal and is conducting individual talks with other signatories, the paper added.

The military claims that around 60 of those who signed the petition are active in the reserves, including seven pilots. However, the petition’s organisers insist the actual number of active reservists is higher, though they declined to disclose the exact figure at this stage.

Earlier this month, senior Air Force commanders held personal talks with the active reservists who signed the petition, threatening them with dismissal if they did not withdraw their signatures. As a result, about 25 of them asked to withdraw their signatures, while others expressed their desire to join the petition in response to the threats.

READ: Over 1,000 Israeli Air force personnel call to end Gaza war

The petition, signed by roughly 1,000 Air Force personnel – including senior officers and pilots – called for an immediate end to the war. The signatories stated that “the hostages can only be brought back through an agreement”, emphasising that their appeal did not include a call to refuse military service.

They added, “At this stage, the war is serving political and personal interests, rather than security needs,” and warned that “continuing the war will not achieve any of its declared goals. Instead, it will lead to the death of hostages, soldiers, and innocent civilians, and the exhaustion of the reservists.”

“We will not remain silent. We call on all citizens in Israel to act and demand – everywhere and by every means – an end to the war and the immediate return of all the hostages.”

The petition has since sparked a wave of similar protest letters from other groups of reservists. In recent days, petitions have been issued by reservist doctors, former combatants from the paratroopers, Golani, armoured corps, artillery units, special forces, the navy, Shayetet 13, offensive cyber units, the army’s spokesperson unit, and others.

READ: Number of Israelis signing petitions demanding return of captives swells to 128,000