GAZA - Religious soldiers should refuse evacuation orders, Gaza Beach Regional Council Spokesman Eran Sternberg said, and added IDF troops are turning into “pit bulls” in the framework of the disengagement plan.
“Yeshiva students should be called on to inform their commanders that when the moment of truth arrives they do not intend to put on their uniforms,” Sternberg said in a letter sent to yeshiva heads and students.
The letter is titled “only en masse desertion would save the IDF and stop the uprooting.”
Calls to refuse orders coming from a unified leadership would lead to massive desertion of soldiers and prevent the army from carrying out evacuation orders, he said.
“This protest is supposed to save Israeli society from a despicable crime and safeguard the country’s Jewish character,” Sternberg added.
“IDF soldiers are turning into pit bulls that are not only meant to uproot a person from his home, but also cause him economic destruction,” he wrote.
Sharon’s intention to evacuate settlements constitutes a crime and could lead to deaths, Sternberg noted, and added evacuation orders should be viewed as illegal.
“Lately, the IDF has turned into a brutal, well-oiled expulsion machine,” he said.
Calls to dismiss Sternberg
Sternberg’s remarks drew harsh reactions from the Left.
The scathing letter could lead to bloodshed and the targeting of IDF soldiers on evacuation day, Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer said.
“Instead of acting to improve the conditions of settlers slated for evacuation, he chooses to incite against IDF soldiers,” Oppenheimer said.
Meanwhile, the Labor Party’s young guard turned to the interior minister and demanded that fund transfers to the Gaza Beach Regional Council be conditioned upon Sternberg’s dismissal.
“Sternberg is engaging in dangerous incitement…it’s improper that this should be done at the expanse of taxpayers,” young guard chairman Eran Hermoni said.