Jerusalem, Sept 25: A group of air force pilots are refusing to carry out air strikes in Palestinian territories, the first such protest from pilots, who are revered in Israel as the country's highest quality citizens. The declaration by 27 pilots yesterday in the reserves -- who regularly carry out combat missions -- was likely to deal a blow to military morale because of their elite standing.
Also, it reinforced a small but vocal movement among soldiers who refuse to serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where three years of Israeli-Palestinian violence shows no sign of ending.
Reacting angrily in interviews on all three Israeli TV channels, Maj. Gen. Dan Halutz, the Air Force Commander, charged that the pilots were playing politics.
At issue are the frequent Israeli air strikes aimed at killing Palestinian militants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israel calls the operations "targeted killings," but Palestinians and human rights groups criticise them as assassinations, noting that innocent civilians have often been killed as well.
In the past, Halutz has dismissed such criticism.
In June, Halutz acknowledged that the Air Force had dropped a one-ton bomb on a senior the house of a Hamas militant, even though they knew his family was with him at the time.
The bombing killed the militant, Salah Shehadeh, his wife and 16 other people. Bureau Report