Israeli military crisis spreading to permanent service

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli Media
19 Aug 2023 13:56

Israeli media reports that the crisis affecting the Israeli occupation forces is starting to spread to the permanent service of the IOF.

Israeli occupation forces near Nablus, occupied West Bank, occupied Palestine, July 6, 2023 (AP)

The crisis that has swept through the Israeli occupation forces, wherein soldiers stopped joining the reserve brigades, and that started with the Air Force, is now seeping into the permanent service of the Israeli occupation, and it seems that it will affect this sector, too, Israeli military affairs analyst Alon Ben David told Channel 13.

The public clash this week between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli military leadership - in the wake of it a series of statements by Knesset members against the servicemen - began to permeate the permanent service, Ben David stressed.

According to the Israeli journalist, even the leaders of the most elite units in the Israeli occupation forces do not know how to deal with their officers who say they do not want to serve in an army they curse.

The climax of the crisis, Ben David projected, will coincide with the Supreme Court session slated for next month to discuss the reasonability doctrine. That, in turn, will coincide with pilots who have been grounded in protest going back to duty in order to maintain operational efficiency.

In protest against the overhaul that would limit the powers of the Israeli Supreme Court, thousands of Israeli occupation reservists have withdrawn from service in protest at the right-wing government's weakening of the country's Supreme Court.

Fighter pilots and personnel of the IOF's intelligence, cyber, and special operations teams are among those demonstrating.

The reservists have said unequivocally they will resume volunteer duty only if Netanyahu suspends the judicial overhaul.

Senior IOF officers, particularly Israeli Air Force commander Major General Tomer Bar, have warned of a progressive deterioration in their preparation for war since then.

Israeli media reported that Bar met with a group of reserve pilots and confessed that there has been a considerable reduction in preparation.

Axios' Israeli correspondent Barak Ravid highlighted that Israeli occupation reserve pilots undergo training at least one time per week to keep their operational abilities sharp and pilots who have not trained for several weeks are not permitted to fly.

The Israeli writer cited a US official as saying that the "Pentagon is concerned that the crisis facing the Israeli military could have negative implications for Israel's deterrence strategy and may encourage Iran or Hezbollah to conduct military provocations that could escalate the situation in the region."

"The crisis, especially within the Israeli Air Force, could have negative operational implications for US forces that closely cooperate with Israel in the region. It could also compel the US to send more troops to the region," Ravid indicated.

In the midst of concerns about the potential role of these developments in toppling the government, Israeli sources have cautioned against the impact of the coalition's proposed revisions to the conscription law on the IOF's cohesion.