- THE MEIR AMIT INTELLIGENCE HERITAGE AND COMMEMORATION CENTER - STAFF - MAR 13, 2023 -
The Palestinian media are systematically covering the demonstrations held in Israel to protest the legal reforms advanced by the Israeli government. Their reports are generally informative and provide straight reporting, and for the most part are based on translations of the Israeli media.
Overview
Among the news reports quoted, prominent were those regarding the refusal of Israel’s reserve soldiers. For example, on March 2, 2023, the Gaza-based, Hamas-affiliated Shehab news agency devoted eight reports to the refusal of IDF reserve soldiers to appear for military duty and the rift in Israeli society. The Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership and Hamas, which regularly criticize the activities of the government of Israel, have almost not related to the protests almost at all.Several Palestinian political commentators related to the issue. Some analyzed Israel society and stressed that its unity was being eroded. Others claimed that the protests would have an influence on the soldiers’ future compliance with orders and on Israel’s deterrent capabilities. Still others claimed the broadening of the political disagreements in Israel could prevent Israel from dealing with external threats which necessitated a consensus. And there were some who called on the Palestinians to unite and exploit the crisis in Israel to advance the “liberation” and to continue the “resistance.” An exception was a former Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine member, who related positively to the fact that in Israel the demonstrations were permitted by the authorities and contained, as opposed to the custom in the Arab states in general and the PA in particular.The Palestinians are not alone in following the protests. The Iranian and Arab channels devote a large part of their airtime to events in Israel and encourage the division in Israeli society. They follow and cover Israeli reporting, adding their own commentaries and interpretations. High-ranking Hezbollah figures also relate to the protests and push their own narrative, which stresses the “temporary nature of the Zionist entity” and quote Hassan Nasrallah’s speech about the “spider web.”[1]
Further Information
Protests of the reserve soldiers
The Hamas-affiliated Shehab website posted an article entitled, “Will the Israeli army disintegrate after ‘Netanyahu’s reforms’?” It discussed reports of units of reserve soldiers, among them special ops units, the 8200 intelligence unit, air force officers, etc., who announced they would not report for duty if the legal reforms became law. Observers were of the opinion that the entrance of the political dispute into the reserves, which make up 70% of the IDF’s fighting force, indicated there was a good chance the army, which was “the backbone of the country’s existence,” would fall apart; if the disputes continued, Israel would lead collapse. Two Palestinian commentators on Israeli affairs were quoted. One, Salah al-Na’ami, called on the Palestinians to unite and exploit the crisis in Israel to advance the “liberation” [the establishment of a Palestinian state] and to continue the “resistance” [anti-Israeli terrorist attacks]. The other, Sayid Basharat, said the protests in the army were a great danger to Israel’s continued existence because the army was its backbone. He added that the protests would influence Israel’s future concept of war against its enemies regarding soldiers’ obedience to orders during combat. He claimed the protests within the army could gradually develop into rebellion and outright refusal to follow orders, which would lead it its collapse (Shehab, March 2, 2023).‘
Adel Yassin, a Shehab commentator who deals with Israel,[2] claimed Israeli security was in the midst of a “nightmare situation of a collapse,” after dozens of reserves soldiers, especially in the air force, expressed their refusal to continue their reserve service following the passage of the legal reforms. He added that refusal to appear for reserve duty, especially of pilots, threatened Israel’s existence, because a weak air force, which was the backbone of the army and Israel, would damage Israel’s military superiority, which supported its national security and was at the core of its military doctrine. He added that the current situation in Israel would cause it to lose much of its prestige and deterrent capability vis-à-vis the world in general and its enemies in particular, especially because would be unable to wage war or any military confrontation without a fully prepared air force. For decades, he said, the air force had been the strategic arm Israel used most often to lower risks and prevent the loss of soldiers’ lives. He also claimed the importance of the air force had grown in the estimation of the political leadership because it lacked faith in the capabilities of the ground forces after the unsuccessful attempts to rehabilitate carried out since the Second Lebanon War. He was of the opinion that the spread of refusal among Israeli reserve forces, especially in the air force, reflected the concern among pilots who had been “involved in the murder of thousands of innocent victims [sic]” that a change in the Israeli legal system, which was their armor against prosecution in international courts, would leave them open to prosecution for crimes against humanity (Shehab website, March 6, 2023).
Fayiz Abu Shamala, a Hamas-affiliated commentator from Khan Yunis, wrote an article called “What’s happening in the ranks of the occupation army?” He reported that the objections to the legal reforms had spread to the Israeli air force and all branches of the army, and the commanders of certain units had announced their retirement or their refusal continue training or service. They included 37 pilots from the 69th Air Force wing, which specializes in long-range attacks, who announced they would not participate in training exercises. One hundred and thirty officers from the Yahalom engineering unit told Defense Minister Yoav Galant they opposed the legal reforms and found it hard to serve. Hundreds of reserve soldiers from the intelligence Unit 8200 signed a letter warning they would not volunteer for service if the legal reforms became law. In addition, about a hundred special ops officers, among them a general, threatened they would not continue serving if the reforms became law. All the reports indicated that the Israeli army, which was once called invincible, had become part of Israel’s divided society, which was marching towards the unknown. So why had the air force and ground force officers acted as they had? It was because they argued that the legal reforms raised concerns among the pilots and would leave them vulnerable to prosecution as war criminals in international courts of law. Today the Israeli Supreme Court provided them with legal protection for “acts of aggression” against civilians, the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and even in Damascus … The division within Israeli society was developing rapidly, and any rightist bloc retreat from the legal reforms meant defeat for the government. That was equally true for the leftist block, which was fighting for its own interests and future, and the battle between the sides had reached a showdown because of the lack of compromise around which the “warring brothers” could meet (Palestine Online, March 7, 2023).
Commentary on the protest
Ikram Atallah, a political commentator from the Gaza Strip, wrote that Palestinians who followed what happens on the other side of the border knew what happens when religious forces receive an electoral mandate. They believe it gives them the power to put their hands on history and on society’s foundations, structure, legacy and traditions, and that they alone possess the truth and the correct course of action, which is based on their ideology and relies on religious texts. That led to a division in Israeli society which cannot be mended quickly, if at all … No option for compromise exists among the Israelis, because the government is ruled by the leader of the Jewish Zionist Party, Smotrich, who never, in his entire life, backed down from any position or commitment to his voters, and bases his ideology on the Torah. He doesn’t care in the least about any demonstrations of a public he considers “secular and heretic” … [and] thus ideologists destroy their societies. Societies ruled by religious forces shattered and collapsed … Apparently the Israelis have to tighten their seat belts, because at this point the plane is going to crash (al-Ayam, March 5, 2023).
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