As many military officials in Israel have abandoned their duties to protest against Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul plan, US top military official Mark Milley will travel to Israel this week to assess the effects on the Israeli Defense Forces.
Amid rising tensions in Israel for the judiciary overhaul plan, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Mark Milley was reported to travel to Israel this coming week to assess the negative effects of the protests on the Israeli military.
According to a report by the Axios news website, Milley will meet with Israel’s security brass “to assess the extent of damage to the army’s readiness caused by some volunteer reservists’ refusal to report for duty in protest of the judicial overhaul”.
Citing from an unnamed US official in the Pentagon, the report noted that the US Defense Department is concerned Israel’s military deterrence has been negatively impacted. This could very well “encourage countries such as Iran and its Hezbollah and Hamas proxies to carry out more provocative actions against the US and its interests in the region”.
The report also said that the US general is expected to sit down with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, adding that it was not yet clear whether Milley will also meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or not. As of this Thursday, the Pentagon has not yet commented on the news. Milley had been expected to visit Israel in June, but he had to cancel the flight at the last minute due to the Wagner Group’s rebellion in Russia.
Since the news went viral that Milley is to visit Israel next week, many Israeli sources have been spreading the idea that this will be his last trip as the US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman. This emanates from the fact that the 65-year-old Milley is set to leave his post in this coming October.
Israel military is on the brink of a crisis
The chief spokesperson of the Israel Defense Forces acknowledged last week that soldiers refusing to report for volunteer reserve duty in protest of the government’s judicial overhaul have caused a degree of harm to the army’s readiness. Some 10,000 reservists have threatened not to report for duty, charging that the government’s judicial reform plans will turn Israel into an undemocratic country;
To make matters even worse, it seems the figures are way higher than 10,000, because the IDF has not released figures on how many have followed through on the threat to leave their duties to date.
This, however, is not a new challenge because last month in July, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant voiced his concerns in this regard to his US counterpart Lloyd Austin through a phone call. The call was held a day after Netanyahu’s government passed the first law in the judicial overhaul plan.
In addition to the Pentagon, the Biden administration has also declared its opposition to Netanyahu’s extreme policy of reforming the Israel’s Supreme Court, alarming that it would hurt Israel’s democracy.
During the phone call, Austin stressed that the US “current priority is to ensure unity within the IDF’s ranks and to maintain the readiness and capabilities of the military, in the face of a range of security threats”.
To read between the lines, the crisis in Israel’s military could have negative operational implications for US forces that closely cooperate with Israel in the region. It could also compel the US to send more troops to the region, a move that is in contrast with Biden’s policy of minimum presence there.
