TEL AVIV — The Israeli military plans to significantly revise
recruitment policy that would accept youngsters deemed as violent while
exclude right-wing protesters.
Military sources said the army's Manpower Division has drafted new
standards for recruitment, particularly in combat units, in wake of the
Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank in
September 2005. They said the withdrawal has spawned a resistance movement
against similar military operations in the West Bank that has been joined by
hundreds of Jewish youngsters.
"We are expecting to turn away many people who are deemed unreliable and
accept others who need a second chance," a military source said. "It a very
controversial decision that even proponents say could backfire."
The sources said the new standards were meant to avoid the prospect that
Israeli soldiers would refuse orders to destroy Jewish communities in the
West Bank. They said the military would play the key role in the policy of
Israel's new government to withdraw from at least 90 percent of the West
Bank over the next three years.
On May 3, an Israeli soldier cited for distinction refused to shake the
hand of Chief of Staff
Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz during an Independence Day ceremony. The soldier, in an
act that aroused the anger of Israel's president and prime minister, said
the military had evicted his family from the Gaza Strip last year.
Under the plan, the Manpower Division would reject for combat service
Jewish youngsters indicted or convicted of resisting police or military
operations in the West Bank. The army would also reject Israeli teenagers
involved in illegal settlement. The sources acknowledged that in most cases
the teenagers demonstrated passive resistance.
The sources said scores of Israeli youngsters have already been refused
for combat service. They said army recruiters have told some of the
youngsters to plead emotional difficulties to avoid service altogether.
At the same time, the Manpower Division has proposed the recruitment of
what could be thousands of youngsters accused of non-political violence and
illegal drug use. Manpower Division commander Maj. Gen. Elazar Stern has
recommended that these youngsters be accompanied by a mentor throughout
their more than two years of military service.
"We are not talking about sex offenders or those convicted of violent
crimes," the source said. "We see this as a last chance for many troubled
kids who either will turn to crime or get straightened out in the army."
The sources said the outline of Stern's recommendations have been
supported by Chief of Staff
Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz. But they said military police have opposed the
recruitment of violent youngsters in the army. The police have warned that
this could undermine discipline and drastically increase the number of
military investigations.