- A Israel Air Force fighter pilot on Sunday joined the
27 signatories of the pilots' letter of refusal, in which they stated that
they would not participate in operations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
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- IAF airman Lt. Colonel Eli, a fighter pilot credited
with downing an especially high number of enemy planes, announced that
he was adding his signature to the refusal letter.
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- Eli, who serves as a flight instructor together with
Colonel Yiftah Spector, one of the original 27 signatories, said he decided
to add his signature following IAF Chief Halutz's announcement that harsher
measures would be taken against flight instructors who signed the letter,
saying they were not "the people who should educate the next generation
of pilots."
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- Earlier Sunday, Colonel Ran, one of the original 27 signatories
of the letter of refusal, said he regretted signing the letter and had
changed his mind about the move.
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- In a letter to the IAF chief, the active-duty pilot wrote
that following responses he received from family and friends, he realized
that his original intention in signing the letter of refusal had been misunderstood.
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- The colonel said in his letter that it was now clear
to him that the path he took was wrong, causing his family and friends
to view him as a "refusenik" though "he was not one."
He stressed that he "has never refused to carry out a command."
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- Colonel Ran said he decided to sign the letter of refusal
due to feelings of bitterness and frustration that had been building up
in him for many years. "My feeling is that the many years of occupation
have corrupted us as a people and have blurred the line between good and
evil, right and wrong," he wrote. Ran said he had signed the refusal
letter because of "the need to express these feelings and to infuse
into the public consciousness the danger that the occupation poses to us."
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- Despite his feelings, he says he did all he could to
continue serving in the IAF and train pilots. He added that he would continue
to express his views in different forums.
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- The move came after a slew of criticism of the pilots'
move from government figures and from fellow Israel Air Force airmen.
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- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, speaking in a holiday interview
to Israel Radio on Friday condemned the letter, saying it reminded him
that there had also been an attempt to overthrow a democratically-elected
government during the 1982 Lebanon War.
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- Sharon's comments were an apparent reference to the Amram
Mitzan's decision to resign during the Lebanon War. Mitzna was commander
of the IDF Command College at the time.
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- Mitzna cited the behavior of then defense minister Sharon
during the invasion of Israel's northern neighbor, in particular regarding
the massacres in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, as the reasons for
his decision.
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- The signatories to the letter wrote they would refuse
to take part in aerial attacks on populated Palestinian areas in the territories.
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- "We, both veteran and active pilots, who have served
and who still serve the state of Israel, are opposed to carrying out illegal
and immoral orders to attack, of the type Israel carries out in the territories,"
the letter states.
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- "We, for whom the IDF and the air force are an integral
part of our being, refuse to continue to hit innocent civilians... The
continued occupation is critically harming the country's security"
and moral fiber, it added.
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- The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee said
Thursday it would meet next week to discuss the letter. The committee will
meet next Tuesday, following the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
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- Also Thursday, Air Force Commander-in-Chief Major General
Dan Halutz issued an order to ground the 27 signatories - nine of whom
are still on active duty - who signed the letter, details of which were
published last week in Haaretz.
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- On Thursday, seven Air Force pilots sent a letter to
Halutz rejecting the pilots' refusal to serve in the territories, saying
they were not doing anything immoral by operating in the territories.
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- Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein said Thursday that
any IDF activity that is conducted according to the directives of the Judge
Advocate General Corps, the attorney general's office and the Supreme Court
is legal.
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- Rubinstein said that although the army does not generally
consult with the attorney general's office before a specific operation,
legal experts do conduct discussions and issue instructions on issues such
as the extent the army should go to aovid wounding innocent civilians during
an operation.
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- After the Israel Defense Forces attempted to assassinate
Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin about three weeks ago, military
leaders said the reason the operation had failed was that the army used
a relatively small explosive device so as to minimize civilian casualties.
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- Halutz told Haaretz on Wednesday night he planned to
treat the signatories "in the same way as the IDF has dealt with refuseniks
until now. This method has proven itself."
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- He called the refusal to serve "the mother of all
dangers" to Israel.
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- The nine pilots will be called to meetings with the heads
of their bases in the coming days. If they do not retract their statement,
they will be dismissed from active service.
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