IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Air Force Commander Tomer Bar are attempting to prevent the publication of a petition signed by 950 reserve and retired fighter pilots calling for a refusal to serve in the military. The petition is being circulated against the government's continued push for a "judicial reform" plan to weaken the judiciary and its decision to dismiss Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.

The day before yesterday, Air Force Commander Bar held a meeting with senior reserve Air Force officers to prevent the publication of the petition. Former Air Force commanders Eliezer Shkedi, Dan Halutz, and Ido Nehushtan also participated in the meeting, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Wednesday.

Zamir entered the meeting with the officers who initiated the petition "with the aim of supporting the Air Force commander" against those described as "trying to draw the Air Force into political protests," according to the newspaper. He told those gathered, "Give support to Tomer Bar, don't repeat the mistakes of the past, and I expect you to strengthen the Air Force."

Zamir added, "I expect former Air Force commanders to support Tomer Bar, not encourage refusal to serve, and not involve the Air Force in political protests."

The newspaper quoted one of the petition's initiators, a former fighter pilot, as saying about the petition: "The document, unlike what has been published so far, does not address refusal to comply with service. It is not directed at the army at all, but rather is a clear call to the government to return all the kidnapped, even at the price of stopping the war. It has not yet been decided whether and when the petition, along with the names of its signatories, will be published. I must make it clear that it is important for the petition's initiators not to harm the air force."

The petition, which was leaked to the media, read: "We, the reserve and retired soldiers of the air force, demand the return of the kidnapped soldiers home without delay, even at the price of an immediate cessation of hostilities. In the meantime, the war primarily serves political and personal interests, not security interests. Continuing the war does not serve any of its declared goals and will lead to the deaths of the kidnapped soldiers, Israeli soldiers and innocent civilians, and will erode the reserve force."

The petition added: "As has been proven in the past, the kidnapped soldiers can only be returned peacefully through an agreement, while military pressure leads to the deaths of kidnapped soldiers and endangers our soldiers. We call on all Israeli citizens to join this movement and demand everywhere and by any means: Stop the fighting and return the kidnapped soldiers – now. Every day that passes endangers their lives. Any further moment of hesitation is a disgrace."

The Air Force commander threatened reserve personnel with dismissal if they signed the petition, as the signatures on the petition are not yet official and have not been officially published, according to Haaretz.

Since the beginning of the war on Gaza, the Israeli military has dismissed members of the reserve forces who signed petitions urging them to refuse service due to the threat they pose to the lives of Israeli prisoners in Gaza. This includes a reserve fighter pilot who announced last month that he would not report for duty in protest against the resumption of the war on Gaza.