TEL AVIV — Israel's military has drafted plans to halt massive
disobedience during the operation to evict 10,000 Jews from their homes in
the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank. One scenario involves insubordination from within its own ranks.
Military sources said a
significant number of soldiers would refuse or evade orders to expel Israeli
residents during the four-week withdrawal operation.
"There is a small but vocal element that won't obey orders," a military
source said. "The key question is whether this will legitimize massive
disobedience during the operation."
At this point, dozens of officers and soldiers have announced that they
would not participate in the operation, Middle East Newsline reported. In early July, an Israeli soldier,
saying the order was illegal, walked away from an operation to expel Jewish
squatters from a building in the Gaza Strip.
The sources said the army was concerned over the prospect of increasing
unrest within regular and reserve units.
The military plans include the monitoring of units to detect signs of
insubordination, the isolation of potential soldiers likely to refuse orders
and the swift punishment of those who do. The sources said military
tribunals would be established for rapid trials of soldiers who refuse any
order connected to the withdrawal operation.
On July 11, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz warned officers and
soldiers that the military would not tolerate disobedience. Halutz said
career soldiers who refuse the order to evacuate Israelis from the Gaza
Strip and northern West Bank would be dismissed.
"Under no circumstances may we refuse to obey an order," Halutz wrote in
a letter to officers. "The army will not be forgiving, compromising or
ambiguous with all that concerns the duty to obey. The Israel Defense Forces
will not be a home to soldiers and officers whose allegiance to the tasks is
conditional."
More than 41,000 soldiers have been allocated for the withdrawal and
eviction operation. The military, in a departure to previous plans, has been
ordered to participate in the expulsion of Israeli residents.
[On Tuesday, an 18-year-old Palestinian suicide bomber killed three
Israelis in an attack outside a shopping mall in the Israeli city of
Netanya. The Iranian-sponsored Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
Overnight Wednesday, Israeli troops raided the West Bank city of Tulkarm,
said to have been the launching pad for the suicide strike.]
The military has been concerned that Orthodox Jewish soldiers would lead
the disobedience effort. Military sources cited appeals by prominent rabbis
for soldiers to refuse orders to evict Jews from their homes.
"To my dismay, an ongoing campaign to label all soldiers who wear
religious head coverings as those who would potentially refuse orders is
underway," Halutz said in the letter. "Much of this unfortunate label stems
from irresponsible, yet influential individuals who claim to have 'taken
responsibility' for these soldiers. This is unacceptable."
On Tuesday, Halutz told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee that 30 soldiers and officers have refused to participate in the
withdrawal operation. On Wednesday, an additional five soldiers, based in
the Givati Brigade, said they would not take part in the withdrawal.
Most of the soldiers who have refused the withdrawal orders were
identified as Orthodox Jews. The chief of staff has warned that he would end
the deferment of about 1,300 Jewish seminary students allowed to combine
military service with religious studies.
"One method being employed by those opposed to Disengagement [withdrawal
operation] is a direct appeal to soldiers and their families to refuse
orders," the Halutz letter said. "Such appeals are even being made by
individuals who present themselves as community leaders."
