The Reservists Are Very Restless

August 24, 2006 - 9:18 PM by Allison

There were many predictions that when the reservists returned from Lebanon that they were not going to go home quietly.Westbankblog reports that the predictions were on target:

The protests led by the reservists taking place in front of the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem are gaining steam. A core group of protestors have set up a tent and stay there 24 hours a day. Two days ago they were joined by Moti Ashkenazi, the reserve officer who spearheaded the protests against the government after the failures of the Yom Kippur War.

According to this report in Ynetnews.com hundreds more came to support them yesterday. Haaretz predicts that the weekend will see a jump in the numbers, as reservists who are just now released from duty will join soon. On Friday there will be a joint protest with the bereaved families of soldier’s killed in the war, and on Sunday there will be a protest march from Tel-Aviv to the Prime Minister’s office in Jerusalem.

The protestors are demanding that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz take responsibility for the failures of the war and resign from their positions. If they don’t, they want the public to demand a State Commission of Inquiry.

The three are of course hoping that the protests will blow over, and they can get away with receiving a slap on the wrist by a lower level investigative panel. I don’t think this will happen. Right now there are quite a few politicians who are standing on the sidelines and letting the reserve soldiers have their say, while they enjoy the results. If it looks like the protests are faltering, and the “troika” will escape, then they will join the fray and take out their already sharpened knives.

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