Middle East: A group of 27 Israeli pilots, some retired and some still active in reserve duty, have sent a letter to the commander of the air force saying they refuse to obey orders to carry out attacks in Palestinian population centres.
The group was referring to Israel's policy of targeting Palestinian militants from the air, often with the use of Apache helicopters. Along with the militants, civilians have also been killed in these strikes, which began a few months after the Intifada erupted in September 2000.
In their letter, to air force chief, Maj Gen Dan Halutz, the group wrote: "We, veteran pilots and active pilots alike, who have served and who continue to serve the state of Israel for many weeks every year, are opposed to carrying out illegal and immoral attack orders, of the type carried out by Israel in the territories. We, who have been educated to love the state of Israel and to contribute to the Zionist endeavour, refuse to take part in air force attacks in civilian population centres."
Soldiers, mainly reservists, have refused to serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the course of the Intifada. The numbers have never been large - they are in the hundreds - and an even smaller number have actually done jail time for their refusal. But this is the first time that pilots - considered the elite of the Israeli military - have declared their refusal to carry out orders in the territories.
Mr Halutz tried to play down the letter: "We are talking of only 27 pilots out of thousands [of pilots\]," he said. But he did call refusal to serve the greatest "danger to this nation". Israel, he added, was involved in a "war against cruel terror" that had been forced on it.
Asked about civilian deaths during assassination strikes, the air force chief said Israel "has no intention of harming civilians" and that there was no army more "moral" than the Israeli military.
In the Gaza Strip, the man who was the target of an assassination strike earlier this month, and who has since gone underground, made a rare public appearance yesterday. Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin told reporters in a mosque that he would not support a new ceasefire, would not agree to disarm and would not join a government being formed by Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Mr Ahmed Korei.
A Palestinian youth aged 15 was killed yesterday during clashes with the Israeli troops in the southern Gaza Strip.