Haaretz: Dozens of soldiers suspended from service after refusing to continue military service unless a deal is reached to return Israeli prisoners with Hamas
Haaretz newspaper Haaretz said on Tuesday that the Israeli army has begun to suspend dozens of reserve soldiers who announced their refusal to continue performing military service unless a deal is reached to return the Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip.
Haaretz added that the army contacted the soldiers who signed a protest letter demanding that they conclude a deal to return the prisoners or they would refrain from service, and informed them of the decision to suspend them.
According to the Israeli newspaper, one of the soldiers who signed the letter informed his colleagues that his commanders had asked him about it, and he denied signing it.
Another soldier described the phone call as a threat, while a third said his battalion commander had a “long, reprimanding phone call” with him, at the end of which he was suspended from duty.
A week ago, Haaretz said, “130 Israeli soldiers signed a letter warning that they would no longer serve unless the government worked to reach an agreement regarding the hostages in Gaza”.
Haaretz pointed out that the letter was addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, government ministers, and Chief of Staff of the Army Herzi Halevi.
Israel estimates that there are 101 prisoners in the Gaza Strip, while Hamas announced the killing of dozens of prisoners in random Israeli raids.
Despite the ongoing joint mediation efforts of Qatar, Egypt and the United States for months, and the presentation of one agreement proposal after another to end the war on Gaza and exchange prisoners, Netanyahu continues to set new conditions that include continuing control over the Philadelphi Corridor on the border between Gaza and Egypt, and the Rafah crossing in Gaza, and preventing the return of Palestinian faction fighters to northern Gaza by inspecting returnees through the Netzarim corridor in the middle of the Strip.
For its part, Hamas insists on a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a complete cessation of war to accept any agreement.
