In December, Israel’s High Court ruled that soldiers can not refuse to serve in the West Bank or Gaza Strip. Members of the armed forces are obliged to serve wherever their commanders send them, the panel decreed, “Yesterday the objection was to [military activity in] Lebanon, today it is to [the West Bank], tomorrow it will be to evacuating settlements.”
The tribunal evaded the conscientious objectors’ request that it rule on whether Israel has a right to be in the Occupied Territories. The court ruled that Israel’s “fight against terrorism” outweighed reservists’ moral beliefs. The reservists had argued that it would be illegal for them to obey orders that maintain “a system which consists entirely of collective punishment of a civilian population”.
Brian Smith
Article republished, courtesy of World Socialist Web Site: http://www.wsws.org
See Also:
Israel: Sharon’s victory presages internal strife amidst escalating aggression
[31 January 2003] http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/jan2003/isra-j31.shtml
Protest by Israeli reservists opens new chapter in the struggle against Zionism
[9 February 2002] http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/feb2002/isra-f09.shtml
The political significance of Israel’s assassination policy
[7 September 2001] http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/sep2001/isra-s07.shtml
UN dismayed by indiscriminate shooting of schoolgirl by Israeli forces
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=6324&Cr=unrwa&Cr1=
For news of Israeli soldiers who refuse to fight an unjust war, please visit:
http://www.seruv.org.il/defaulteng.asp
Please also visit Gush Shalom:
http://www.gush-shalom.org/english
The tribunal evaded the conscientious objectors’ request that it rule on whether Israel has a right to be in the Occupied Territories. The court ruled that Israel’s “fight against terrorism” outweighed reservists’ moral beliefs. The reservists had argued that it would be illegal for them to obey orders that maintain “a system which consists entirely of collective punishment of a civilian population”.
Brian Smith
Article republished, courtesy of World Socialist Web Site: http://www.wsws.org
See Also:
Israel: Sharon’s victory presages internal strife amidst escalating aggression
[31 January 2003] http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/jan2003/isra-j31.shtml
Protest by Israeli reservists opens new chapter in the struggle against Zionism
[9 February 2002] http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/feb2002/isra-f09.shtml
The political significance of Israel’s assassination policy
[7 September 2001] http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/sep2001/isra-s07.shtml
UN dismayed by indiscriminate shooting of schoolgirl by Israeli forces
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=6324&Cr=unrwa&Cr1=
For news of Israeli soldiers who refuse to fight an unjust war, please visit:
http://www.seruv.org.il/defaulteng.asp
Please also visit Gush Shalom:
http://www.gush-shalom.org/english