The four Israeli Israelis protested the “harassment of innocent civilians”

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM September 28 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The day the second Palestinian Intifada is to usher into its fifth year, four senior officers of an elite Israeli air force unit hit out at the military's “immoral” policies in the occupied territories in a letter published by Israeli newspapers Tuesday, September 28.

The move came as the casualty toll from Al-Aqsa Intifada went above 4,500 on both Israeli and Palestinian sides, with an over three Palestinians to one Israeli.

The four Israeli officers, in their published letter, echoed human rights watchdog criticism of Israeli house demolitions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, describing them as “immoral collective punishment operations”, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The letter was addressed to chief of staff General Moshe Yaalon and his deputy General Dan Halutz, and the four stressed their loyalty to the Israeli military and the elite Sahaldag force they serve in.

They said they wanted to spark debate about particular sorts of operation which they said amounted to “harassment of innocent civilians”.

There has been mounting dissent within Israeli officers about the army’s policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Earlier this month, five young conscripts were released from nine months in jail for refusing to carry out their compulsory military service out of solidarity with the Palestinians.

An Israeli reservist said last March that a growing number of reservists are skeptic about the “moral principles” of the army.

Erlik Alhanan said 80 percent of reservists have lost confidence in the declared moral principles of the Israeli army due to the practices in Lebanon and the crackdown on the Palestinians.

Twenty-seven reserve and active duty airmen signed a letter last September addressed to Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon, refusing to carry out “immoral and illegal” raids on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Also last November, four former heads of the Israeli Shin Beth interior security services warned of the “disastrous”  consequences of Israel's continued occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Intifada Death Toll

Palestinian woman shouts at an Israeli soldier during a rally against the Separation Wall (AFP)

In a separate development, since the outbreak of the Intifada exactly four years ago, at least 3,549 Palestinians and 1,017 Israelis have been killed, according to official figures published Tuesday by Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Statistics released by the Palestinian health ministry showed that since September 28, 2000, a total of 3,549 Palestinians have been killed, of which 772 were minors, AFP reported.

Of the 3,549 dead, 158 were killed in targeted assassinations by the Israeli army -- 75 of them in the West Bank and 83 in the Gaza Strip.

Figures compiled by the Palestinian center for human rights show that of the total number, 2,477 of Palestinian victims were civilians, while the remaining less than one third were resistance fighters.

Figures published by Shin Bet showed that in the same period, 1,017 Israelis were killed, of whom 703 were civilians and 314 were members of the security forces.

According to the Shin Bet, Palestinian fighters have carried out 138 bombings, 13,730 shooting attacks and fired 460 Qassam rockets at Israel, all of which left 5,598 people injured.