- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
Vilk is among a growing number of Israeli soldiers speaking out against the 15-month conflict and refusing to serve anymore, saying they saw or did things that crossed ethical lines. While the movement is small — some 200 soldiers signed a letter saying they’d stop fighting if the government didn’t secure a ceasefire — soldiers say it’s the tip of the iceberg and they want others to come forward.
Their refusal comes at a time of mounting pressure on Israel and Hamas to wind down the fighting. Ceasefire talks are underway, and both President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump have called for a deal by the Jan. 20 inauguration.
200 fewer perpetrators of genocide is still a good thing. One less IDF soldier willing to kill lowers the potential number of people killed significantly, because one man with an automatic weapon can kill a lot of people with no weapons at all.
That’s true when the limiting factor is how many people are willing to kill, but Israel has those in spades. The limiting factor here is the number of people available to kill (people who don’t evacuate in time, those who enter buffer zones, etc etc). Anyone who’s able to be killed will be killed, so 200 fewer soldiers won’t actually change the number of war crimes being committed in Gaza.