ISRAEL: Ishai Sagi sentenced to 26 days

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CO Ishai Sagi, Lieutenant in the Reserves, was sent to military prison on July 29th for refusing to serve in the occupied territories. He was sentenced to 26 days in military prison.

With Lieutenant Ishai Sagi's recent refusal, the number of IDF soldiers who have refused to serve in the Territories since the outbreak of the El Aqsa Intefada jumped to 17. 11 of the objectors are reserve-duty soldiers; 6 are regular enlistees. Besides Lieutenant Sagi, who was sentenced to 26 days in military prison, an additional two soldiers are likewise serving time due to their refusal. The three stated to their superior officers that their objection was grounded on political motives, following the call of "Yesh Gvul" ["There are Limits"] not to serve in the Territories.

Sagi's father yesterday expressed support for his son's act and surprise for the "harsh sentence" imposed on him. "I understood that he had a young regimental commander who wanted to deter him, and I believe there was also an element of personal revenge." Another objector, Idan Landau, Captain in the Reserves, who recently was released from prison, explained yesterday that he refused to serve in the Territories because the IDF in its present makeup is not my army." According to him, nearly all of the IDF's present activities in the Territories are unnecessary for defense purposes. "My discussions with friends lead me to believe that we are about to face a wave of resistance to serving in the Territories."

WRI calls for protest letters to:


  • Commander of Military Prison No. 4,Military Prison No. 4,Military postal number 02507, IDF Israel. Fax: +972-3-957-52-76

  • Commander of Military Prison No. 6,Military Prison No. 6,Military postal number 03734, IDF Israel. Fax: +972-4-869-28-84

  • Military Attorney General, Military postal number 9605, IDF, Israel. Fax: +972-3-569-43-70

  • Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz, IDF Chief of Staff,Ha-Qirya,Tel-Aviv, Israel. Fax: +972-3-569-55-94

  • Mr. Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Minister of Defence,Ministry of Defence,37 Kaplan st.,Tel-Aviv 61909, Israel.e-mail: sar@mod.gov.il Fax: +972-3-696-27-57 / +972-3-691-69-40 / +972-3-691-79-15

  • Mr. Ariel Sharon,Prime MinisterPrime Ministers' Office,Qiriat David Ben-GurionJerusalem, Israel.e-mail: webmaster@pmo.gov.il Fax: +972-2-566-48-38 / +972-2-651-26-31

Addresses of Israeli media:


  • Ma'ariv: 2 Karlibach st. Tel-Aviv 67132 Israel Fax: +972-3-561-06-14 e-mail: editor@maariv.co.il

  • Yedioth Aharonoth: 2 Moses st. Tel-Aviv Israel Fax: +972-3-608-25-46

  • Ha'aretz (Hebrew): 21 Schocken st. Tel-Aviv, 61001 Israel Fax: +972-3-681-00-12

  • Ha'aretz (English edition): 21 Schocken st. Tel-Aviv, 61001 Israel Fax: +972-3-512-11-56 e-mail: letters@haaretz.co.il

  • Jerusalem Post: POB 81 Jerusalem 91000 Israel Fax: +972-2-538-95-27 e-mail: news@jpost.co.il or letters@jpost.co.il

  • Jerusalem Report: Fax: +972-2-537-94-89

  • Radio (fax numbers): Kol-Israel +972-2-531-33-15 and +972-3-694-47-09 Galei Tzahal +972-3-512-67-20

  • Television (fax numbers): Channel 1 +972-2-530-15-36 Channel 2 +972-2-533-98-09