Herzi Halevi and Prime Minister Netanyahu
Herzi Halevi and Prime Minister NetanyahuSpokesperson

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid the rise in cases of reserve soldiers refusing to report for reserve duty in protest of the government's judicial reform legislation.

According to a report by Channel 12, the Chief of Staff told Netanyahu that the refusals that are related to the reform legislation are very worrying. "The talk of refusing to serve can already harm the military's operational abilities. It was a mistake to call the reservists who attended demonstrations 'anarchists' it insults those who are responsible for the country's daily security."

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who also met with Lt. Gen. Halevi and discussed the issue during the past day, discussed the surge in reserve duty refusals: "The situation today obligated us to talk, and fast. I call on every soldier and officer - the IDF is a tool that protects the state of Israel, and the reservists are part of its great might. Leave the political arguments out of the IDF, it's our lives. We are facing difficult and complex external challenges, any call for refusal hurts the military's functionality and ability to carry out its mission."

Netanyahu and Gallant will meet on Sunday evening to discuss the issue of military refusal, its consequences, and how to deal with it.

After finishing their compulsory military service, most Israelis are required to report for reserve duty. Despite this, there are many exemptions and many who are unwilling to report manage to find a way around it.

Earlier Sunday, National Unity Chairman, former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, called on active service members and reservists not to "lend a hand to service refusal" amid growing calls to do so to protest the judicial reform legislation. "I call on you to continue to serve, to continue to appear in any condition," stated Gantz.

Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, a member of Gantz's party, also emphasized that "We are forced to keep the IDF out of the fight." The leaders of the protest movement responded, "We will not volunteer for reserve duty under a dictatorship."