A Soldier Receiving a Blatantly Illegal Order Is Obligated to Refuse It

In the eighties Arik Sharon, then security minister, decided to kill the leader of the PLO, Yaser Arafat, “no matter the cost”. Arafat was widely referred to back then as “master murderer”, the attitude towards him among Israelis was very similar to the attitude towards Yahya Sinwar and his aides these days, if not more severe.

Arafat was a cautious leader, making it quite difficult to reach him. The intelligence gathered about his whereabouts often led to crowded locations. When information was received indicating that the entire PLO leadership was set to attend a packed event in a stadium in Beirut, Lebanese collaborators planted explosives beneath the VIP section and surrounded the stadium with cars packed with explosives. Officers from the Israeli Military Intelligence (AMAN) approached then Prime Minister Menachem Begin and convinced him to cancel the operation.

In October ‘82, intelligence locating Arafat in a cargo plane during a flight was obtained, Air Force planes were prompted to take flight. Though the operation was delayed following a hesitation of an Air force commander (David Ivri) who stood up to pressure from the Chief of Staff (Rafael “Raful” Eitan) and the Defence Minister (Ariel Sharon). Eventually it turned out that the plane was carrying Arafat’s brother, along with 30 orphans from the Sabra and Shatila massacre.

When Arafat switched to flying commercial, Ariel Sharon decided to bring down a passenger plane with all its passengers to eliminate him. In at least five instances where a plane allegedly carrying Arafat was identified, fighter jets were prompted to take flight. However top Air force and AMAN personnel discreetly dismissed the order, sabotaged the operation and did not attack. Their justifications were -

A. it was a blatantly illegal order.

B. the anticipated international fallout for Israel would be catastrophic.

Even Chief of Staff Raful was complicit in this “conspiracy”, tacitly approving of the refusal to carry out the command. (All this information is sourced from an article in Haaretz about Ronen Bergman's book, Rise and Kill First, which was published in English only).

Such was the case back then, but no longer. All restraints have been lifted; a biblical ideology has taken over the IDF. Obliterate the memory of Amalek, eliminate the Seven Nations. There are no innocents. Everyone is an enemy.

Yaniv Kubovich reports in Haaretz that one of the officers under Brigadier General Walach, commander of the 252nd Division, stated that his commander turned his ideology into an operational plan. On the ground level of the infantry forces, the worldview of the "Army of King David" has taken hold, as expressed by the mother of Shuval Nathan from the settlement of Rehelim, who fell in battle in southern Lebanon. Our tragedy is that those who disagree, those who think differently, eventually fall in line.

Not only in the infantry forces but also in the Air Force and Intelligence, the successors of David Ivry reveal themselves as weaklings. I have no idea what goes on in the Air Force and AMAN command centers, but the results speak for themselves. No questions are asked beforehand, no debriefings conducted afterward, no explanations demanded. And the State’s Attorney? A consigliere. How many soldiers have been arrested for war crimes? How many commanders have been held accountable? Is Al Jazeera the only entity capable of collecting videos from the internet?

The IDF Spokesperson provides false information — not a recent phenomenon, but the volume of truth is increasingly drowning in a sea of lies. How many terrorists have we killed? Read Yaniv Kubovich's article on how the IDF counts "terrorists". And the Chief of Staff? Stuck on October 7th, afraid of the Ofer Winters within the army.

A soldier receiving a blatantly illegal order is obligated to refuse it. An officer who receives such an order is certainly bound by this obligation. An officer who receives an order they suspect may be illegal is required to question and investigate it until they are satisfied (provided time permits it and no immediate danger to life).

A pilot, particularly a fighter jet pilot (as opposed to helicopter pilots), often cannot determine the legality of the target they are instructed to attack and has no choice but to rely on the headquarters to have done the necessary vetting. However, they are obligated to ask questions afterward. If it becomes apparent that they are repeatedly sent to attack illegal targets, they must demand information before future missions and, if necessary, refuse to comply.

For example, if you are repeatedly deployed under "emergency protocol"—meaning fire for the means of extraction — you should ask questions the next time. Demand a debriefing. Who did we extract? What was the situation? Stand your ground.

An officer who carries out a blatantly illegal order bears responsibility — moral, criminal, and historical. Keep that in mind. Protect yourselves from the law (if not Israeli law, then international). Protect yourselves from the questions your grandchildren will inevitably ask one day. Protect what remains of the country.

The critical need to oppose the “biblicalization” of war goes beyond the moral and international contexts. The fight for the future must also take place within the military. The police have already fallen. The military is on the same path, and if action is not taken within its ranks, this fortress too will collapse.

Refusing an illegal order is only the first step in resisting what is happening within the IDF. Start by refusing a blatantly illegal order.