Alwaght- With the resumption of the war on Gaza with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's order, waves of protests at warmongering both at home and abroad have begun to smash the Israeli government.
As demonstrators in various countries are calling on the world community to step up the pressure on Tel Aviv to stop massacring of the civilians and clear the path of delivery of aid to Gazans, the Israelis in the occupied territories have taken to the streets in large numbers to condemn Netanyahu for jeopardizing the lives of the prisoners held by Hamas and bringing back the shadow of security crisis and economic pressure to the Israeli society.
Meanwhile, in recent days, various units of the military forces have joined the demonstrations against Netanyahu cabinet, signing a petition that calls for it to end fruitless war on the Palestinian enclave.
Over the past two years, relations between Netanyahu and the country’s top military commanders have deteriorated significantly. These tensions are rooted in strategic, political and personal differences, and in some cases have escalated into open confrontation. This report examines the most important points of disagreement and the reasons for the military’s distrust of Netanyahu.
The military has been sending open letters criticizing the policies and performance of the Netanyahu government in the war over the past two years, as in February of last year, more than 550 former commanders and officers of the Israeli army warned the PM in a letter about resuming the Gaza war without setting a clear and specific strategic goal.
These letters, indeed, have not been listened to in the government, which has now led to deepened differences between the military and the government.
In one of the most recent letters, about a thousand air force soldiers and reserve pilots who participated in the Gaza bombing operations wrote an open letter to senior Israeli military and political officials, criticizing the continuation of the war and encouraging civilians to hold protests.
After that, more than 150 former Israeli naval officers signed a petition calling for an end to the genocidal Gaza war.
In the petition, they said that restarting the war on Gaza will undermine morale of the personnel and inflict damage on the civilians.
Doctors and nurses working for the military have also expressed concern about the catastrophic health situation in Gaza. They have noted that the complete blockade of Gaza and the shortage of medicine and medical equipment have led to the deaths of civilians, especially children and women.
Army and government discords
Prolonged war and failure of the army in securing the initial objectives of the war have heightened the differences between the military personnel and the cabinet officials, especially Netanyahu. Now the army commanders believe that the cabinet motivation for renewed war are driven by prioritization of political interests over national security.
The military is eyeing a clear strategy for long-term security, but Netanyahu is seeking to maintain power and avoid political and judicial prosecutions.
Many in the military believe that Netanyahu is prolonging the war to avoid trials for corruption cases and to maintain power, and that the government’s strategies for the war have only increased human casualties and reduced the military’s credibility in society, especially since Netanyahu, after the October 7 attack, instead of accepting responsibility, blamed the army. This behavior has destroyed the commanders’ confidence in his leadership. They say that he is thinking about his political survival instead of focusing on Israel’s security.
This distrust of the military towards the Netanyahu government has not emerged after war and the military failures of the army in Gaza. During the government's efforts to pass the judicial reform law, the Israeli army and intelligence community, Shabak and Mossad, had warned that these reforms threatened the stability of the security institutions, and thousands of reserve officers, including pilots and special forces, refused to serve in protest of this plan.
On the other hand, Netanyahu's aimless and attritional war in Gaza has increased military casualties and weakened the morale of the military. So, more and more soldiers feel every day that they are engaged in a politically-motivated war, rather that a war aimed at defending the country.
Military personnel haunted by international prosecution
Meanwhile, one of the main reasons driving the polarity between military personnel and the government is the increasing fear of the pilots, soldiers, and military medical staff of international prosecution. Many military personnel are worried about trial by international courts. They argue that with continuation of the war, Netanyahu exposes them to war crimes charges.
Historical examples of the prosecution of military personnel and officials from various countries on charges of war crimes such as cases related to the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Serbia, and some American commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan have created growing concern among Israeli forces. The first spark of the possibility of such a prosecution was triggered the Brazilian court's complaint against a Israeli soldier in January, following which CNN reported that the fear of arrest in other countries had shaken the hearts of Israeli soldiers. This could be one of the main reasons for the Israeli military's demand for an end to the war.
The International Criminal Court and UN judicial mechanisms have so far tried dozens of military personnel and politicians for violations of international humanitarian law. These cases show that even after decades, military personnel are likely to be tried for their crimes in war.
The Hague-based international court is currently investigating war crimes charges against Israeli officials and soldiers, and if an arrest warrant is issued, any of these individuals could be arrested if they travel to ICC member states, including most of European countries.
Governance crisis as protests unfold
With the military personnel upping their protests against war policy, the government has adopted iron fist policy against them. On Thursday, sources reported that the army chief and air force commander have decided to fire reserve forces signing the petition. 60 reserve pilots have already been fired, media outlets report.
Netanyahu has directly attacked the petition signatories, accusing them of "lies."
"Again the same letters," said Netanyahu, "Sometimes in the name of pilots, of Navy veterans, and so on. The public no longer buys into their propaganda lies that are so impressive to the media."
He claimed this is not a widespread phenomenon: "This is not a wave. This is not a current. This is a small, noisy, anarchistic, and disconnected group of retirees – most of whom haven't served in years." He had earlier called this a military rebellion and called the protesters a "small minority."
In this connection, Israel affairs expert and Emad Abu Awad told Shehab News Agency of Palestine that the situation indicates an intensification of divisions within the Israeli regime, and the cabinet seeks to suppress any dissenting voice.
According to political experts, this government stance deepens the distrust between the government and military personnel. This division can ignite further protests inside the military apparatus and even collective resignations. This, further, can turn the differences into governance crisis and force the government to fine-tune its stances or accept ceasefire.
