Israeli army chief warns of curbed military ops amid absent reservists – report
'All red lines have been crossed. People who were responsible for the security of the country have suddenly adopted this cynicism'
Israel’s army Chief of Staff General Herzi Halevi has reportedly warned his government that the military could possibly reduce the scope of operations due to reservists refusing to report for duty in protest of the controversial judicial overhaul.
On Friday, 200 reservist pilots and 100 reservist military doctors said they would halt service due to the legislative push, which would give the Israeli government full control over judicial appointments and ban the High Court of Justice from reviewing Basic Laws.
In response, Netanyahu said refusing to serve poses a grave danger to the future of the State of Israel, and that he expects the security establishment to adopt a “firm position against” the phenomenon.
“The country cannot exist without the [army]. There will not be a nation, it’s very simple,” he warned. “All red lines have been crossed. People who were responsible for the security of the country have suddenly adopted this cynicism.”
According to The New York Times (NYT) report, citing Israeli officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, there was also concern among the army’s top brass that protests against the judicial shakeup might spread from reservists to full-time soldiers. That concern materialized on Saturday when a group of some 40 active-duty soldiers announced via a video message that they joined the protest movement.
A spokesman for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied that Halevi or anyone else notified the premier of the threat of military operations subsiding.
In its report, NYT also cited a senior Israeli defense official in saying that the Shin Bet internal security service has detected an uptick in attempts by Jewish extremists to carry out attacks against Palestinians, adding that they feel empowered by the hardline members of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition. The official added that terror groups like Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon appear emboldened by Israel’s internal crisis, increasing their cooperation to add fire to the flames.