Israeli soldier 'urged revolt'

[Scurrilous]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1382953,00.html

<snip>

"The Israeli army says a soldier has been arrested for calling on his comrades to refuse to evacuate a West Bank settlement outpost. It is the first case of its kind.
It happened the day after settler leaders said hundreds of soldiers might refuse to carry out orders to evacuate Gaza Strip settlers if the government went ahead with its plan to withdraw this year.

The prime minister, Ariel Sharon, said yesterday that refusal to obey orders would be punished.

"This would be a serious mistake if a movement arises that supports refusal to carry out an order. The decision regarding the disengagement plan was made democratically by the government and approved by a large knesset majority.

"I see no justification for refusal, neither by soldiers, nor by political leaders, nor by rabbis. There might be attempts at refusal but... the law will be upheld."

[The Magistrate]

1. A Good Job They Arrested Him, Sir

The settlers who will not leave voluntarily will have to be removed with force....

[TheKingfish]

2. I wonder how many 13 years old 'settler' girls they will shoot

[pelsar]

4. the connection?

i never could figure out why someone writes a comment like that...then I read where the mentality is that

settler = palestenian terrorist.

though that also makes no sense in terms what happens on the ground, the way people react to each other, so I guess its either out of malice or ignorence or something else.

anyway, can anybody explain the logic behind the statement?

[King Mongo]

7. Civilians are not terrorists

What makes you think that civilians are terrorists? People are not terrorists simply because the IDF killed them.

[Scurrilous]

3. Israeli Reservists Threaten Gaza Pullout Mutiny

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=7251004

<snip>

"A group of 34 Israeli reserve officers, all of them settlers, threatened in a letter published on Thursday to disobey any order to evacuate settlements under a Gaza pullout plan.

The letter in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper was the strongest sign so far of possible mass dissent in the ranks over Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's intention to remove all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza and four of 120 in the West Bank this year.

"We demand the army not force us to take action that violates our beliefs and conscience," the group, which the newspaper said included four battalion commanders, wrote in the letter to the their brigade commander.
"We believe any order to implement the 'disengagement' is illegal," the group said. "A soldier is forbidden from carrying out this kind of order, according to the laws of the land and the Israel Defense Forces code of conduct."

<snip>

"This letter is a dangerous phenomenon," Yuval Shteinitz, chairman of parliament's influential Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, told Israel Radio: "Disobedience is dangerous. It could tear the army apart."

[Englander]

5. Sharon says 'all our might' will enforce Gaza pullout..

JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel said yesterday that his government would throw all its might against those resisting the dismantling of Jewish settlements, his sternest warning yet to opponents of his plan to pull out of Gaza and part of the West Bank this summer.

Sharon issued his warning two days after settlers clashed with soldiers at an unauthorized West Bank outpost, a possible prelude to confrontations when Israeli forces move in to take apart veteran settlements for the first time in Israel's 34-year occupation.

"They shouldn't dare to even raise a hand against a policeman or a soldier," Sharon said in a meeting with soldiers who clashed with settlers Monday. "We will act against (them) with all our might."

Also yesterday, Sharon won an important political victory when the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party decided to join his reshuffled government, giving him a parliamentary majority for the first time since last summer.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2005/01/06/sharon_says_all_our_might_will_enforce_gaza_pullout/

[Scurrilous]

6. IDF to oust 34 officers if they don't retract intent to refuse

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/524274.html

<snip>

"Any officer who fails to retract his signature from a declaration of intent to refuse to evacuate settlements will be stripped of his rank Friday and ousted from the Israel Defense Forces, Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said Thursday.

Ya'alon issued his warning in response to a letter published on Thursday in Yedioth Ahronoth in which four battalion commanders and 30 other officers, all residents of West Bank settlements who serve in the Ramallah-area regional defense brigade, declared that they would refuse an order to evacuate settlements. Ya'alon's hope is that firm action now will nip the right-wing refusal movement in the bud.

The brigade commander, Noam Edelstein, met with all the signatories on Friday morning and warned them of the consequences should they fail to retract their signatures.

It is not yet clear how many will retract their signatures, but it appears that at least some are already having second thoughts. Some of the signatories are planning to issue a letter of clarification saying they were not talking about refusal of orders, but were expressing their deep concern in the face of the impending evacuation, Israel Radio reported Friday."

[Scurrilous]

8. Officers back away from refusal to evacuate settlements

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/524274.html

<snip>

"During a meeting Friday morning with the commander of the Israel Defense Force's regional Binyamin Brigade, senior figures among the 34 reserve officers who signed a letter stating they would refuse orders to evacuate settlements expressed reservations regarding their declared refusal, according to IDF sources.

In an attempt to clarify their position, the officers presented brigade commander Colonel Miki Edelstein with a letter stating their reservations - in principle - regarding refusal of orders."


<snip>


"Edelstein will present a report on the meeting to GOC Central Command Moshe Kaplinsky and to Brigadier General Gadi Eizenkot, commander of IDF units in the West Bank. The IDF will then decide whether the officers will be allowed to remain in the army.

Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said Thursday that any officer who fails to retract his signature from the declaration of intent to refuse to evacuate settlements will be stripped of his rank and ousted from the IDF.
Ya'alon's hope is that firm action now will nip the right-wing refusal movement in the bud."