"I won't serve in your army".

• Author: Kidron, Peretz
• Position: Israeli soldiers refuse to serve in the West Bank

One Thousand Israeli reservists have signed declarations that they will not serve in the Occupied Territories. Today, twenty-one of these refuseniks are in military prisons. The Spring IDF (Israel Defense Forces) offensive directed at Palestinian cities and refugee camps has involved the call-up of 31,000 reservists to reinforce the regular conscript units spearheading the attack. A growing number of reservists--well over 500 to date--have honored their signed declarations and notified their commanding officers that they want no part in a military crackdown on a helpless civilian population or in the attendant actions that constitute war crimes. Twenty-one are currently serving prison terms for refusal. More than sixty-five refuseniks have been imprisoned since the beginning of the intifada.

Sergio Yahni and Itai Haviv are two of the refuseniks.

On March 19, Yahni was sentenced to twenty-eight days of detention for refusing reserve duty in the Israeli military. Yahni, co-director of the Alternative Information Center, is a longstanding activist with the Israeli peace group Yesh Gvul. At his trial, he stressed that he won't serve with the IDF in any capacity as long as the occupation is in force. This is a step beyond the usual principle of "selective refusal," whereby refuseniks agree to be delegated to other noncombatant duties unconnected with the occupation.

Following his trial, Yahni set out his objections in an eloquent letter to Defense Minister Benyamin Ben Eliezer:

"An officer for whom you are responsible has sentenced me today to twenty-eight days in military prison for my refusal to serve in reserve duty. I did not refuse only to serve in the Occupied Palestinian Territories--as I have for the past fifteen years. I refused to serve in the Israeli army in any capacity.

"Since 29th September 2000, the Israeli army has waged a `dirty war' against the Palestinian Authority. This dirty war includes extra-judicial killings, the murder of women and children, the destruction of the economic and social infrastructure of the Palestinian population, the burning of agricultural fields, and the uprooting of trees. You have sowed fear and despair but failed to achieve your ultimate objective; the Palestinian people did not give up their dream of sovereignty and independence. Neither did you provide security for your own people despite all the destructive violence of the army over which you have responsibility.

"In light of your great failure...