Since two month, Arabi Hamad Salalha, an Arab-Druze resident of Beit
Dajan, in the Galilee, refuse to report to the recruitment office in
Beit Dajan, and declared his refusal to the Israeli policy of forcing
the youth to serve in the military.
Arabi said that he understands that his decision will lead him to courts and eventual to jail but added that he is ready and willing to be imprisoned rather than being a soldier in the Israeli occupation forces.
“military service is against my belonging, against my conscious and beliefs”, he stated.
The Arabs48 news website met with the father of Arabi, Hamad Salaha, who is also a member of the regional administration of a refusenik group known as “The Arab Druze Initiative”.
Hamad said that he and his family are proud of Arabi, and stand with him in his decision.
Several Arab, Druze residents of Israel and some Jews were arrested on the last several years for refusing the military service in the occupied territories.
Some of them declared that they refuse to serve in an army that occupies another nation and practices all sorts of abuse against its people.
“I am an Arab; I refuse to be part of the military terrorism”, this was the slogan of refuseniks who declared their rejection to the military military service, “We are Arabs” and go to jail after refusing to the serve in the army.
According to statistics conducted last April by the “The Arab Druze Initiative” the percentage of Refuseniks has reached 40%.
