A group of 27 active reserve duty pilots and retired pilots have sent a letter to Israel's Air Force Chief, Maj.-Gen. Dan Halutz, saying that they refuse to take part in targeted assassinations and other operations against Palestinians in the occupied territories, Israel's Channel 2 TV reported Wednesday.
In the letter, the signatories declared they refused to carry out attack orders that are "illegal and immoral."
"We refuse to operate in Palestinian civilian areas, and refuse to endanger innocent Palestinian civilians," they wrote.
"We, who have been educated to love the state of Israel, and to contribute to the Zionist endeavor, refuse to take part in air force attacks on civilian population centers," the letter says.
The group was referring to Israel's policy of targeted killings of Palestinians in the occupied territories.
Israel's Chief of General Staff Moshe Ya'alon, in response to the report, said that the pilots were entirely wrong and that the refusal was a very serious issue.
"These are political statements dressed up in military uniforms; they are not legitimate at all. We will check the report. We recently jailed a soldier who refused to remove an illegal settlement outpost. His action was a political statement," Ya'alon said. (Albawaba.com)
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