There is a decline of 15 to 25 percent in reservists willing to report to a new round of duty including in combat units fighting in Gaza and South Lebanon, the report states.
The Israeli military is dealing with a substantial drop in the number of reserve soldiers willing to report for duty in the ongoing war on Gaza and Lebanon, the Israeli Yedioth Ahronoth has reported.
“According to the military there is a decline of 15% to 25% in reservists willing to report to a new round of duty including in combat units fighting in Gaza and South Lebanon,” the report said.
It said that in the first months of the war, “100% of soldiers serving in the reserves showed up to join the fight,” adding that even though all positions were filled, “many insisted on being deployed and some even returned from travel abroad to enlist.”
In recent weeks, however, the figures in the reserve units have dropped to “an average of 75-85 percent.”
‘Stems from Exhaustion’
The main reason for the decline “stems from exhaustion,” the report stated, as the reserve forces served “for months at a time and were repeatedly called up again and again in the year since the war broke out.”
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) said it is currently dealing with a massive number of reservist soldiers who refused to comply with orders to be deployed for a new round of fighting.
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“The resource of reservists is not unlimited, and it is extremely difficult for people to be absent so much in the middle of life. That is why there is a silent drop in the numbers of soldiers reporting for duty,” Israeli military officials are quoted as saying.
“The reservists often do not protest or make public declarations and we cannot argue, fight them, or demand by force they serve,” they added.
In the new year, reserve soldiers would be required to serve at least 100 days “and be called up for 45 to 60 days every four months on average,” the report stated.
Funds Allocation
Israeli security officials also warned that the government “has yet to allocate funds for financial for soldiers in the reserves, many of whom lost businesses and income.”
In total, the funds allocated for reservists last year reached about nine billion shekels, the report said, with each reservist receiving “tens of thousands of shekels.”
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However, this time, “nothing assures the reservists they will be appropriately compensated for their service…”
The Finance Ministry, however, hopes to “buy” the reservists “with various other economic benefits,” the report said.
The military has urged the government to double or triple “the previous amount of reserve duty and also extend the period of mandatory service from 32 months to three full years” to meet the growing demands of the military.
The legislation has however been delayed while politicians “push ahead with a so called draft bill that legalizes draft dodging” by Haredi (Orthodox) men, the report said.
Haredi parties are demanding a bill “to exempt some 60,000 ultra-Orthodox men every year in the years to come,” it added.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
The military in ” Israel ” needs to turn on their government. Take over, then stop the war. Until that happens, nothing will change.