Reserve officers serving in the IDF’s General HQ in Tel Aviv were informed they would now be required to present a summon for reserve before they would be allowed to enter the base when protests of the government's judicial legislation, are underway outside.
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This new procedure was recently put into effect by Col. Ohad Ezra, head of the military’s General Staff headquarters in Tel Aviv.
According to the new order that was delivered to them on Wednesday, officers, who have until now been exempt from presenting such documentation at the entrance to the military headquarters, would not be allowed to enter without presenting a summon to service to the security guards at the entrances.
The military claims the new order is aimed at improving congestion at the entrance points but many reserve officers who received the internal email detailing the procedure, claim it was put into effect as a result of a lack of trust in them.
"It's true that many of the reserve officers who said they would refuse to volunteer to serve the government that was destroying Israel's democracy, serve in the HQ in sensitive Air Force and Intelligence facilities but it is going too far to suspect that they may take action inside the base itself," one officers said.
The reservists who participate in the weekly and sometimes twice-weekly protests in Tel Aviv, do so out of uniform, often wearing t-shirts identifying them only as alumni of the military. After members of the coalition leveled condemnation and abuse at members of the volunteer reserve service, for their position, Air Force pilots currently serving in the IDF said they were being harassed by supporters of the government when they leave their bases wearing their uniforms.
Meanwhile, protest organizers said that a further 120 members of the reserves in the Air Force announced they were suspending their service late on Tuesday bringing the total number from the Air Force to 830, including over 260 pilots.
"The IDF recognizes and appreciates the significant contribution of reserve personnel to Israel’s security,” the military said in a statement. “The procedures to enter the base during routine days haven’t changed, and the new orders are to be executed only while the area near the base is blocked by protesters."