Roughly two hundred Israel Air Force reserve pilots are refusing to take part in reserve duty, in protest of the government’s judicial reform plan.
The protesting pilots informed the IAF commander Friday that they will no longer be participating in reserve duty, until further notice.
The group said they maid there decision after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s televised address Thursday night, in which he pledged that the government would move forward with the judicial overhaul plan, even as he called on the Opposition to negotiate a compromise.
During his speech, Netanyahu also vowed to get directly involved in the judicial reform, following passage of the Incapacitation Law, limiting the ability of the Attorney General to declare a prime minister unfit for office only to situations in which the premier suffers from physical or mental incapacitation.
The reserve pilots said they will reassess their decision in two weeks, but added that in the meantime it is clear to them that Netanyahu will not stop the reform plan, something which will in their opinion lead Israel to become a dictatorship.
In addition, roughly 150 reserve IDF officers and soldiers from the Unit 8200 intelligence division have signed a pledge not to participate in reserve duty, effective this coming Sunday.