Elite Israeli troops reject Gaza violence

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Conal Urquhart in Rehovot, Israel
Sunday February 15, 2004
The Observer

The three men sitting in the corner of a busy cafe are unremarkable as they talk among themselves, sipping coffee and blending with the rest of the customers.
But they are members of a remarkable group, the Sayeret Matkal, Israel's equivalent of the SAS. And what makes them even more extraordinary in a society that holds its armed forces in such high esteem - in fact, what has earned them damnation from all over the country - is that they told their commanders that they refuse to serve in the Palestinian territories.

They and 10 others wrote to the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, saying they could no longer serve, 'out of a deep sense of foreboding for the future of Israel as a democratic, Zionist and Jewish state'. The letter stated that they would not take part in violating the rights of millions of Palestinians or provide a shield for Jewish settlements in the occupied territories. It concluded: 'We have long ago crossed the boundary of fighting for a just cause, and now we find ourselves fighting to oppress another people. We shall no longer cross this line.'

Since then they have been villified and supported in the Israeli media and have received death threats.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1148493,00.html

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1. "Elite Israeli troops reject Gaza violence"

good for them