A study by Haifa University said combat soldiers tend to become less hawkish and more supportive of the need for territorial compromises with Israel's Arab neighbors. The research was conducted over 3.5 years, and found that most recruits enter the army with hawkish positions and abandon them during service.

"Contrary to what would be expected, military service does not cause the adoption of militaristic views," [Res.] Col. Zvika Barkai, a political science instructor at Haifa University, said.

Researchers said the study was meant to determine whether the military was politically neutral. They said that during the first six months soldiers became more nationalistic, particularly during basic training, but abandoned the sentiment as their service continued.

"These soldiers adopted more conciliatory views towards minorities in general, and more specifically towards the Arab minority, and experienced a greater change in their views about human rights than soldiers who began their service with less extreme views," the study said. "Over all, when political views did change during military service, they reverted back to the original views after release, with the exception of combat soldiers who maintained more dovish views following their release."

The study said officers were more prone than their soldiers to support human rights and democracy. At the same time, women in the military were said to become more nationalistic.

Barkai said the study could be used by the government to promote change among non-Jewish Israelis, such as Druse and Muslims. He recommended that Arabs be included in the military draft.

"Even taking into account that expanding the draft to include the abovementioned groups may have a marginal or even negative effect on the country's security, the latent national gains should be weighed against the security issues -- not necessarily by the military," Barkai said.