In an address to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz said that the officers that signed a letter last week refusing to serve in Yesha (Judea, Samaria, and Gaza) would be dealt with in a most serious fashion. He added that those who issue a retraction and agree to comply with orders to serve in Yesha areas may do so.
Contradicting the reportedly sincere intentions of the signatories, the army commander said that some of the persons affixing their names were politically motivated and not just acting out of conscience, adding that left-wing organizations such as “Yesh Gvul” (“There is a Limit”) encouraged persons to sign. Some of the officers who signed the letter openly told Mofaz\'s staff that their motive was a political one - \"to get the army out of Yesha.\"
MK Uri Ariel (National Union party) commented that when rabbis instructed soldiers to disobey direct orders to uproot Yesha communities, there was an outcry from the political left. He questioned why there was no similar outcry today.
Contradicting the reportedly sincere intentions of the signatories, the army commander said that some of the persons affixing their names were politically motivated and not just acting out of conscience, adding that left-wing organizations such as “Yesh Gvul” (“There is a Limit”) encouraged persons to sign. Some of the officers who signed the letter openly told Mofaz\'s staff that their motive was a political one - \"to get the army out of Yesha.\"
MK Uri Ariel (National Union party) commented that when rabbis instructed soldiers to disobey direct orders to uproot Yesha communities, there was an outcry from the political left. He questioned why there was no similar outcry today.