Israeli military leadership issues stark warning about unity of ranks
The Israeli military leadership underlines that the unity of the ranks of the Israeli occupation forces is falling apart in light of the protests being carried out by troops and reservists.
Israeli Security Minister Yoav Gallant called for an exceptional session to assess the situation with the leadership of the Israeli occupation forces, Israeli media reported Sunday.
During the session, the leaders told Gallant that damage had been done to the cohesion and unity among the ranks of the servicemen.
The leaders commented on actions taken by the military, such as the steps taken by the former commander of the Shayetet 13, reserve Colonel Saka Erez Nabo. They stated that "when a [figure of his stature] withdraws, it affects cohesion."
Erez had announced that he was suspending his voluntary service in the IOF as an act of protest against the judicial reform law.
There are deep concerns about the widening protests within the military institution, Israeli Channel 13 military affairs correspondent Alon Ben David said.
"All eyes are on the pilots; they are the decisive factor, and the pilots have not yet announced their decision," Ben David continued.
He estimated that the pilots' decision would come in the second half of the week, expecting that the number of pilots who would announce the suspension of their voluntary service would be significant, saying it could be in the tens or even hundreds.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported that 4,000 reservists, including pilots, navigators, and fighters in the "Sayeret Matkal" and Shayetet 13 units, as well as an intelligence officer, are threatening to suspend their service if the judicial amendment law is passed.
Israeli media also reported that an officer in permanent service in the Israeli Air Force's 669 Unit, which is responsible for rescue operations, was summoned for investigation after encouraging others to join the protest against the judicial amendments.
Israeli media earlier in the day reported about the plans that Israeli settlers intend to carry out next week, which will shift from "disruption" to "paralysis", in the hope of increasing pressure on the Israeli government to halt the judicial overhaul that it intends to approve.
The Israeli news website Haaretz said, "The planned measures include increasing the number of military reservists who will stop showing up for service and using pressure from large corporations and trade unions to bring the economy to a halt."
The news website indicated that the organizers of the protests are planning continuous activities starting from the so-called "day of disruption" on Tuesday until next Monday, when the Israeli Knesset may hold the second and third votes on the reasonableness standard bill -- a bill intended at barring judges from dismissing or debating government and ministerial actions based on their "reasonableness".
The coalition of Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes to have the bill signed into law by the end of the month.
On Saturday, Israelis took to the streets for the 28th consecutive week to protest the proposed judicial overhaul.
Thousands of settlers took to the streets in numerous occupied Palestinian cities, with the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth news website reporting that there were as many as 100,000 settlers in "Tel Aviv" alone, and Walla! saying there were 20,000 in occupied Haifa.
Hours before the start of the demonstrations, Israeli media reported that 170 reservists in the occupation army's top special forces unit, Sayeret Matkal, announced that they would no longer show up for service.
In addition, 106 reserve pilots in non-combat posts announced that they would stop showing up for service for the same reason, as per Kan News.
Read more: Netanyahu inflicting 'strategic damage' on relations with US: Gantz