Netanyahu’s Coalition Strained by Reservists’ Judicial Protests

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich arrive at a press conference in Jerusalem July 30, 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich arrive at a press conference in Jerusalem July 30, 2023. (Reuters)
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Netanyahu’s Coalition Strained by Reservists’ Judicial Protests

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich arrive at a press conference in Jerusalem July 30, 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich arrive at a press conference in Jerusalem July 30, 2023. (Reuters)

Ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet sparred on Tuesday over the military's handling of reservists protesting against his coalition's judicial overhaul plan, as concerns mounted for Israel's war-readiness.

Protest leaders say thousands of reservists have stopped reporting for duty. Among them are hundreds of air force pilots or navigators whose absence from weekly refresher flights means that by next month, they may no longer qualify for combat.

"There is a mutiny within the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and any military deals with insurgents as insurgents should be dealt with," Dudi Amsalem, a minister in the Justice Ministry told Army Radio.

"In 15, 20, 30 years, this'll be studied in history books, which will note who the chief of staff was and who the air force chief was," Amsalem said.

Similar criticisms have been made by other lawmakers in Netanyahu's hard-right coalition, whose January-launched drive to change the justice system has sparked unprecedented protests and drawn concern from Western allies.

Amsalem's remarks drew swift rebuke from Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

"If you cannot contain yourselves, then attack me, the defense minister, I am in charge of the chief of staff and air force commander," he posted on social media platform X.

He later published photos of himself with Air Force Commander Tomer Bar at Ramon air base and a video in which he told pilots that they had his full support.

The seeping of the judicial furor into the conscript military, which Israelis have long viewed as an apolitical melting pot, has exacerbated Israel's worst political crisis in years.

The military has so far acknowledged a "limited" impact from the reservists' protest, citing the loss of some veteran instructors from the air force's flight school.

As Israel faces potential flare-ups with Iran, Lebanon and the Palestinians, Netanyahu on Sunday convened the top brass for consultations.

"Israel faces great challenges and as prime minister, I am working day and night together with the defense minister, chief of staff, senior IDF commanders and the security forces to ensure Israel's security," he said on Monday.



Study: Highest Number of Conflicts Worldwide in 2024 Since 1946

Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli military strike on Gaza, during their funeral in al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli military strike on Gaza, during their funeral in al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Study: Highest Number of Conflicts Worldwide in 2024 Since 1946

Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli military strike on Gaza, during their funeral in al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinians mourn their relatives who were killed in an Israeli military strike on Gaza, during their funeral in al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The world saw the highest number of armed conflicts in almost 80 years in 2024, dethroning 2023 as a record year, a Norwegian study published Wednesday showed, highlighting the risks linked to a US disengagement.

Last year, 61 conflicts were registered in the world across 36 countries, with some countries experiencing several simultaneous conflicts, the report by the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (Prio) said.

In 2023, there were 59 conflicts in 34 countries, AFP reported.

"This is not just a spike -- it's a structural shift," said Siri Aas Rustad, the main author of the report which covers trends in armed conflicts in the period 1946-2024.

"The world today is far more violent, and far more fragmented, than it was a decade ago," she said.

Africa remained the most ravaged continent, with 28 conflicts involving at least one state, followed by Asia with 17, the Middle East with 10, Europe with three and the Americas with two.

More than half of these countries experienced two or more conflicts.

The number of deaths resulting from fighting remained around the same level as in 2023, at about 129,000, making 2024 the fourth-deadliest year since the end of the Cold War in 1989, the study said.

The death toll was led by the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, as well as clashes in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

"Now is not the time for the United States -– or any global power -– to retreat from international engagement," Rustad said.

"Isolationism in the face of rising global violence would be a profound mistake with long-term human life consequences," she said, a reference to US President Donald Trump's "America First" campaign.

"It is a mistake to assume the world can look away. Whether under President Trump or any future administration, abandoning global solidarity now would mean walking away from the very stability the US helped build after 1945," she said.

The study is based on data compiled by Sweden's Uppsala University.