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Israeli officer refuses to fight in Gaza over 'abandonment' of hostages, sent to jail
An Israeli officer who refused to serve in the war in the Gaza Strip over the 'abandonment' of hostages has been sent to jail. He said that he could no longer serve in a war that had been reduced to an 'endless death of innocent people' and has a 'lack of a political vision'. read more
Israeli military patrols near the Al Shifa Hospital compound in Gaza City amid the ongoing ground operation against Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip on November 22, 2023. (Photo: Reuters)
An Israeli army officer who refused to serve in the Gaza Strip over the direction of the war has been sent to jail.
The officer, Captain Ron Feiner, had previously served in Gaza as well as Lebanon in the ongoing war, but he has refused to answer to latest summons over the 'abandonment' of hostages.
Feiner told Ynet that he refused to serve for another tour of duty as Netanyahu had dropped the return of hostages to 'the bottom of the priority' list and that he could not neither commit nor convince soldiers under his command to commit the kind of war crimes that Israeli far-right seeks.
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Earlier this month, Netanyahu said that the top-most objective of the war is not the return of hostages but the war against Hamas. Similarly, his principal far-right ally, Bezalel Smotrich, has said that the return of hostages is not the 'most important goal'. Earlier this week, Netanyahu also said that the war would only end when he has expelled all Palestinians from Gaza under US President Donald Trump's plan for the US takeover of the strip.
'I am appalled by never-ending in Gaza'
Feiner said that he is appalled by the never-ending war in Gaza. Instead of his refusal to serve, he said that the war itself has become a threat to Israel's security.
Feiner said, 'What is currently harming the security of the state is the war itself, not people like me who refuse to report for duty. I believe that the government's policy today does not reflect the values of the State of Israel. In the future, when we return to a situation where the government contributes to the true defense of the country, we will be able to return to service. I am at peace with my decision.'
Feiner and Daniel Yahalom, another soldier was sent to prison for refusal to serve, belong to an organisation called 'Soldiers for the Hostages' that.
The organisation said that Feiner participated in three rounds of active combat in Gaza, commanded battles in Gaza, and led a force under fire to extract a wounded in an operation in which six soldiers were killed.
Feiner told Ynet he was driven by the same values that the State of Israel was founded with.
Feiner said, 'I am driven by the same values that led me to serve and fight — I love the country and feel my future here slipping through my fingers. When the government openly declares that the hostages are at the bottom of the priority list, when Smotrich apologizes to his public for not starving the residents of Gaza and not committing these war crimes, when the fighters in my platoon are called for hundreds of days of reserve duty, I can no longer convince them to report for duty. I take responsibility as a commander. I am also refusing for them.'
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Feiner further said that the war had been reduced to the 'endless death of innocent people' and it has a 'lack of a political vision' that are behind his decision to no longer serve in the war.
Feiner said, 'Although the government is willing to throw their future away, I still care. I am appalled by the never-ending war in Gaza, the abandonment of the hostages, the endless death of innocent people, and the lack of a political vision, and I feel that I am morally unable to continue serving as long as this does not change. I need to resist in every possible way for the war to end.'
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