An Israeli 18-year-old was tried and sentenced to 30 days in military jail for refusal to enlist in the IDF, citing the Israel-Hamas war and occupation for his conscientious objection. Tel Aviv resident Tal Mitnick entered an army recruitment center to announce his refusal to enlist.
Mitnick is the first Israeli conscientious objector to be imprisoned since the start of Operation Swords of Iron.
Mitnick entered the Tel Hashomer enlistment center accompanied by other young activists from the Mesarvot Network, a group of conscientious objectors in the country. After entering the base, he was given an exceptionally long sentence for first-time refusers, 30 days in military prison after trial.
Mitnick is expected to continue to be imprisoned for further sentencing after his initial release, according to a statement released by representatives for the teen.
"I refuse to believe that more violence will bring security, I refuse to take part in a war of revenge. I grew up in a home where life is sacred, where discussion is valued, and where discourse and understanding always come before taking violent measures. In the world full of corrupt interests in which we live, violence and war are another way to increase support for the government and silence criticism," his statement read.
"We must recognize the fact that after weeks of the ground operation in Gaza, at the end of the day - negotiations, an agreement, brought back the hostages. It was actually military action that caused them to be killed. Because of the criminal lie that 'there are no innocent civilians in Gaza,' even hostages waving a white flag shouting in Hebrew were shot to death. I don't want to imagine how many similar cases there were that were not investigated because the victims were born on the wrong side of the fence.
Mitnick also wrote that the lack of negotiation ability with Hamas was "simply untrue." He called for the need for diplomacy and political effort.
A movement of youth refusing IDF service?
Over 200 high schoolers who are supposed to be on the path to being drafted in the near future to the IDF announced in August that they will refuse their call-up not only because of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposed judicial reform but also because of “the occupation.”
The group, affiliated with the “bloc against the occupation,” will unleash a new unpredictable dynamic in the battle over the judicial overhaul and the IDF, both because it jumps into the controversial Israeli-Palestinian conflict and because it deals with the mandatory draft.