Dozens of IDF reservists established a protest tent outside of the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem on Tuesday, calling for sustained military action against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Their demand, echoing the slogan "Not stopping until Hamas is defeated," has garnered the support of several government officials, including Education Minister Yoav Kish, Transportation Minister Amichai Chikli, and Knesset members such as Hanoch Melamed, Dani Danon, Moshe Sa'ada, and Yitzhak Kreuzer.
After 88 days of intense fighting, the reservists took their cause directly to the heart of Israel's political establishment.
They argue that the current political solutions being proposed are ineffective and would lead to a situation similar to the one experienced on October 6.
Political solutions being proposed are ineffective
Reserve Sergeant Omer Patsianash, who participated in setting up the protest tent, emphasized the urgency of their demand, highlighting the need for a clear policy to encourage voluntary emigration and the necessity of taking significant territory from the Gaza Strip, placing it under Israeli control.
"All the solutions that the political echelon is currently proposing are ineffective solutions that will lead us exactly to where we were on October 6. We enter, fight, die, leave, the enemy reorganizes itself - and we are attacked again," Patsianas explained. "I see what is happening in the Gaza envelope, I see control that announces bombings at the height of 10 meters, on roads, and highways...
"So, if you claim that you are going to defeat Hamas and fight to the end, why are you protecting us like this? Why are you giving us more bomb shelters and solutions that only show how much legitimacy the enemy has to strengthen itself and attack us again? Why are we not ready to break this concept already and adopt a new policy that contributes to the security of the State of Israel?"
Brigade Sgt.-Maj, Gilad Ach Husif stressed that they were not prepared to go home without finishing the battle against Hamas.
"We are a group of reservists, we have completed the fighting in the Gaza Strip and the north, we are not ready to go home without finishing this battle until we decide it," he said. "From our perspective, this decision is not an empty slogan. We cannot end this battle like the previous rounds.
"It will not be Operation Protective Edge. We are going to sleep here until the government makes the right decisions. We want to thank all the Knesset members, citizens, and grieving parents who come here to hear us and identify with us, and secondly, we call on all reservists who are now being released from combat not to go home."
"The battle is not over," he continued. "Now we are committed to preserving the achievements we have made through tremendous effort. Come here with your equipment and stay with us until the government takes action."