Currently, the war serves mainly political and personal interests, not security interests,’ wrote active reservists and former senior officials in the letter that was published despite the Israeli Air Force Commander’s threats to oust signatories
Nearly 1,000 Israel Air Force current and former reservists published a letter on Thursday morning calling for the return of all hostages even at the cost of ending the war.
In the letter, signed by reserve and retired aircrew fighters, they wrote: “Currently, the war serves mainly political and personal interests, not security interests. The continuation of the war does not contribute to any of its declared goals and will lead to the deaths of the hostages, Israeli soldiers and innocent civilians, and to the attrition of the IDF reserve forces.”
The signatories to the letter added that “as has been proven in the past, only a deal can bring back the hostages safely, while military pressure mainly leads to the killing of the hostages and the endangerement of our soldiers.”
They also called on all Israeli citizens to mobilize to action and demand the end of the war and the return of all hostages. “Every day that passes puts their lives at risk,” they wrote.
The 970 signatories include many active reservists, some of them senior officers and pilots, and some who are no longer in active reserve duty.
After the full list of the signatories was leaked earlier this week, senior air force officers of the rank of brigadier general held phone calls with the signatories to urge them to retract on orders from IAF commander Tomer Bar.
On Tuesday, Bar met personally with reservists from the force to warn them against signing the letter, which was drafted and distributed by former air force members.
At these meetings, Bar warned that if they signed the letter, they would be dismissed from service. But he agreed with reservists that it would make sense to sign a cease-fire and hostage release deal in the near future.
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