Israeli military conscripts Haredis for 'community security squads'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
2 Nov 2023 17:03

The Israeli occupation has resorted to conscripting ultra-orthodox Jews to secure its illegal West Bank settlements.

Ultra-Orthodox settlers in the West Bank near Bethlehem examine guns displayed during an event, on January 6, 2016. (AFP)

The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) are working on conscripting settlers who have not previously served in the Israeli military, the Israeli Haaretz reported.

The newspaper said that the military command seeks to expand its force in order to secure Haredi settlements. Haredi Jews are Ultra-Orthodox Jews who have historically been absent from the IOF, due to their strict adherence to Jewish law.

Following Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the IOF have had to relocate a substantial amount of personnel from the occupied West Bank toward the Northern Front with Lebanon, and the Gaza Envelope. The occupation's military also called around 360,000 reservists to supplement its forces in the south, after the Palestinian Resistance launched a wide-scale attack and took control of military sites and bases.

According to Haaretz, the IOF will provide Heredi settlers with training on the basic use of rifles and will later appoint them as community security squads.

Those who are qualified for conscription have reportedly been asked to fill out a form where they answer questions including their level of religiosity. Only Heredis who have not yet served in the IOF, aged 27 to 50 can apply to the program.

The newspaper also said that authorities have disregarded the fact that several of the applicants have a criminal record or that they have active memberships in anti-government extremist organizations.

"Evi Ha Nahal", "Ma'aleh Amos", "Emmanuel", "Beitar Elite", "Modi'in Elite", and "Tel Zion" are among the illegal settlements encompassed in the program, due to their extremist nature, Haaretz reported.

Settler violence increasing in occupied West Bank

The Israeli occupation's government launched a campaign led by Police Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, to arm settlers in the occupied West Bank after October 7. Settler violence against Palestinians has increased since Netanyahu's return to office under an extremist right-wing government.

Authorities have also tightened restrictions in the West Bank and launched wide-scale arrest campaigns against Palestinians. A recent report published by the Palestinian Prisoners Center For Studies revealed that the occupation had destained more than 1,850 Palestinians, including 51 women and 120 children last month.

Furthermore, the Center's director Riyad al-Ashkar revealed that the occupation increasingly targeted Palestinian women in October, especially in al-Quds and the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories.

Israeli authorities have been systematically targeting any individual who expresses support for Gaza and its Resistance on social media platforms. Moreover, "Israel" has accused Palestinian women of inciting violence after they shared posts on social media exposing the war crimes of the occupation in Gaza.