# Israel Reels at Pilots' Refusal to Go on Mission

- Author: Joichi Ito
- Date: 2003-09-28T14:50:24Z


I'm sure most of you have already seen this news, but 27 pilots including a brigadier general and two colonels, nine in active duty, signed a letter saying that the Israeli air strikes were "illegal and immoral" and that they refused to take part in such missions.ReutersIsrael Reels at Pilots' Refusal to Go on Mission

An F-15 pilot who signed the letter, identified only as  Captain Alef, told Israel's Channel Two television: "If  dropping a bomb on a seven-storey building only to find out 14  innocent civilians were killed, of them nine children and two  women, if that is not an illegal order, then what is?"  Israel drew international condemnation last year when 16  civilians died after an F-16 warplane dropped a one-ton bomb on  a residential neighborhood in Gaza City to kill Salah Shehada,  a top commander in the militant Islamic group Hamas.This is truly a significant issue. If upstanding members the Israeli military feel that the justification of the attacks on the Palestinians is weak, it's clear that the extremists who are pushing for the continued attacks are on fairly weak moral ground.

This reminds me of the work that Peaceworks is doing to try to amplify the voice of the silent majority in Israel and Palestine who are against the continued conflict.





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#### Categories

Global Politics, Warblogging