Fears mount of split in Israeli army

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Telegraph
By Inigo Gilmore in Jerusalem
(Filed: 20/10/2004)

The chief of staff of Israel's armed forces last night denounced leading rabbis who have urged soldiers to disobey orders to remove settlers forcibly from Gaza next year.

Amid growing fears of a split within the army, Lt-Gen Moshe Ya'alon condemned the call during a visit to a naval base in Ashdod and demanded that soldiers do as they are told.

Israeli settlers may not be that easy to remove from Gaza
There has been growing alarm at the highest levels of government and the military over the growing momentum behind the disobedience campaign, which has been generated by an increasingly acrimonious debate over the closure of Israeli settlements in Gaza planned by the prime minister, Ariel Sharon.

Gen Ya'alon's comments were aimed at stopping talk of refusal in its tracks.

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