130 Israeli fugitives against Netanyahu: “I will come back if we fight to get the hostages back” international

Assaf, 29, remembers one of his nights as an Israeli soldier in Gaza: “I had binoculars and a night vision scope. I remember aiming at his face and looking at him ready to shoot as soon as he did anything. But I looked at it and it was not the face of someone who posed a threat to us.” He reflects on the restlessness, emptiness and restlessness he felt after leaving the strip, where he had met with people from his unit the previous Hamas was defeated for almost a month to prevent the recurrence of a massacre like October 7. But, at the same time, he confirmed how, in addition to killing civilians and destroying enclaves, the release of hundreds of his compatriots held hostage by Hamas and other Palestinian groups has not been prioritized. He suspects that the main obstacle in this is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Assaf (who did not want his real name published) is one of 130 soldiers, regular soldiers and reservists who signed a letter addressed to Netanyahu on October 7, the anniversary of the war. In this he declares himself a fugitive. The alleged main reason is to release the kidnapped people, although they do not ignore the deaths of innocent Palestinians among the 43,000 Gazans who have already lost their lives. He says in reference to the captives that the war represents a “death sentence” for their “brothers and sisters.” The text has also been sent to Defense Minister Yoav Galant and the head of the armed forces, General Herzi Halevi. “The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) bombings have resulted in the deaths of many hostages, far more than those rescued in military operations,” the letter reminds.

In addition to Assaf, who does not hesitate to support the two-state solution, Israel and Palestine, two other soldiers agreed to be interviewed by EL PAÍS, these with first and last name. Everyone knows that his public protests upset the Prime Minister a lot, but he has no regrets. According to the newspaper, Netanyahu said that the full burden of the law should fall on him, and also said that he is not a patriot Haaretz

When asked about the military, a spokesperson limited the number of signatories to a low number compared to the hundreds of thousands of troops.

The testimony of these three reservists presents a reality of war that is far from what military spokesmen and rulers usually give. And they strongly criticize the way a competition is developing which they consider entangled, which is why they have not worn the uniform again. Assaf has fought in Gaza and the West Bank; Max Kresh, 28, is deployed to the border with Lebanon, and Michael Ofer-Ziv, 29, decides, among other matters, which locations in the Strip will be bombed from a military operations room in Israeli territory.

After more than two months of military occupation of Gaza and a “comprehensive view” of his unit’s activities through screens, Ofer-Ziv completed his only and final replacement in late 2023. A few days earlier, the incident that “devastated” him and which continues to affect him mentally was the death of three Israeli hostages in Gaza accidentally at the hands of their comrades, who were near soldiers trying to surrender. They were coming, showing a white flag and shouting. How many incidents like this happened to Jews “Palestinians who were just waving the white flag, trying to flee the war and were shot by the army? There were many such cases,” he confirms, knowing that the protocols they have in place are often not followed and civilians are killed, the majority of whom are Palestinians.

“This was the exact opposite of my purpose in the military, which was primarily to rescue the hostages,” he insisted, launching new criticism of the executive’s aggressive plans, which he sees as increasingly distant from an agreement to free them. So, upon returning home, Michael Ofer-Ziv took stock of what he had experienced, what he had been a part of, and decided not to re-enlist. Now, months later, he has gone a step further by publicly signing the letter.

“We killed many Hamas fighters and attacked whatever military targets we found. “I think we have taken Hamas back 10 or 20 years in terms of its military capability,” Assaf believes, adding that this was achieved earlier this year, when he had already left the Strip. Had finished. “I don’t think going from one house to another and demolishing them all, even if it’s a military site, is worth the cost (in terms of) human lives,” he clarifies. “If we were fighting to bring back the hostages, I would 100% re-enlist and be willing to risk my life to bring back my compatriots,” he explains, before adding that every time someone As a potential settlement approaches, it slows down. “I think he’s the prime minister, but we can’t know for sure,” he says.

“Devil’s Choice”

“Many Israelis think it is justified to hate Palestinians in Gaza because they support Hamas. But, in the same way that there are many Israelis who support Bibi”, argues Max Kreis, as the prime minister is popularly known. He is also close to Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader recently killed in the fighting in the Strip. Do not hesitate to compare, “Two leaderships that are actually harmful to their people. It is not about choosing one or the other as if they were football teams, because both represent a diabolical choice.” ,” says Kresh, while insisting that the current executive leads Israel down a path of “racism” and “virtually terrorism.”

“From the first day I never trusted him (Netanyahu), but still, I risked my life for him,” he says. Kresh published a text on his profile on the social network Facebook. In which he criticized the “kill them all” atmosphere that surrounded their stay at the border with Lebanon. That comment enraged his colleagues and a few weeks later, he was removed from his position, although his bosses never linked him to that publication. He says that he received innumerable signs of support from outside.

For Assaf, the fact that Palestinian militias are now reorganizing in some areas of the Strip does not mean they have the capacity to attack Israel, let alone repeat October 7. He added, “But they will continue to kill us if we do not promote a political solution.” With the battle won at the military level, he believes the priority should have been the captives, but attacks continued and “many hostages have been killed directly by the IDF or Hamas under circumstances of military pressure” that His point of view is that this could have been avoided. He further said, “The price we are paying is much greater than the achievements we have achieved,” he particularly remembers the three comrades from his unit who were martyred between August and September, in their place. They had refused to go and those they had said goodbye to in the cemetery. ,

“I completely disagree with those who say that no one is innocent in Gaza. (…) I am sure that out of two million residents, many of them are not from Hamas nor are they sympathetic to Hamas,” Assaf comments, describing an atmosphere of rising tension and hatred. which is inspired by the supremacist positions of some rulers and leaders of the extreme right. Kresh expressed similar sentiments: “I have experienced a very hostile environment of retaliation and racism against Arabs. And I have many Arab friends and I like to engage in activism for coexistence,” he explains.

Like Kresh, Ofer-Ziv had taken part in protests against Netanyahu before the war and was highly critical of the most right-wing government in the country’s history, which he described as “terrible”. But he, like Assaf, did not hesitate to enlist after October 7, 2023, when the war began with a Hamas-led offensive that left some 1,200 dead and 250 abducted, according to official figures.

They feel that the burden of responsibility is on them, but neither of them believe that they will suffer “retribution” or “revenge.” He argues that his purpose as reservist was to prevent another similar massacre from being carried out and to facilitate the return of the hostages. However, the ground reality was different. He believes that despite the deaths of thousands of civilians, the objective of avoiding another genocide is being partially achieved. But he believes military operations harm the repatriation of detainees. Not wearing a uniform – which is deeply disliked in Israeli society – is “a way to bring back hostages and save soldiers’ lives”, according to Assaf, who adds that he does not accept criticism from politicians who have never served in combat. Have not gone.

For Kresh, the hardest part came after his mission. He became separated from his partner, his studies came to a halt, he had to return to his parents’ home and, in addition, saw how the government abandoned him. He received help only from organizations outside the state, his family and friends. “We have gone through a tragedy. But it is very important to remember that the Arabs are not our enemies. Our enemy is Hamas,” he insists. He believes that the real contest is not being fought between Israelis and Palestinians, but between those who want war and those who want peace.