Military

DATE=12/22/2003

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS (LONG)

NUMBER=2-311107

BYLINE=ROSS DUNN

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Thirteen fighters in Israel's most celebrated commando unit have publicly refused to serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, saying the army's operations there are immoral. The Israeli army has downplayed the significance of the protest, saying the views of this group are at odds with the vast majority of soldiers posted in the territories. Ross Dunn reports from Jerusalem.

TEXT: The commandos from the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, made their views known in a letter to the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon.

The letter says they will no longer participate in what they call an oppressive rule in the territories and the disregard for the human-rights of millions of Palestinians.

The commandos say they will no longer be a defensive wall for settlements, referring to the Jewish communities established in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since these areas were seized by Israel during the 1967 Middle East War.

Their protest is seen as particularly embarrassing for the government, as they are all reservist members of an elite unit.

The commandos' letter also follows a similar protest earlier this year from 27 air force pilots who said they would no longer take part in operations against Palestinian militants that also result in civilians being killed.

But the head of the Israeli Defense Forces, General Moshe Ya'alon, says the commandos' letter is not significant.

He says more than 95-percent of reserve soldiers are willingly answering their annual call-up for duty.

In a separate development, the Israeli human-rights group, B'tselem, and the international group Physicians for Human rights, issued a report condemning Israeli military policies in the West Bank and Gaza.

The report says the Israeli army's restrictions on the movement of Palestinians are preventing them from receiving, in some cases, potentially life-saving medical treatment.

It says at least 38 Palestinians have died, including 14 minors, after soldiers either delayed or prevented them from passing through military checkpoints in the territories. (SIGNED)

NEB/RD/AWP/RAE