Far-right minister insinuates pilots not supporting ground troops for ‘reasons of conscience’

Far-right Settlements Minister Orit Strock reportedly sparred with a top ranking military official at today’s cabinet meeting over air support to ground troops in Gaza.

“Is it true that there are pilots who do not assist the ground forces due to reasons of conscience?” she reportedly asked.

Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano, the military official in charge of Iran affairs, was reportedly outraged by the accusation, and said: “In my opinion, this is a terrible question.”

“The short answer is that there is no such thing,” Toledano said, according to leaks from the meeting. “The longer answer is that the [amount of] air assistance to the ground forces in the war is unprecedented. I am sure that if you ask the commanders in the field, you will get the same answer.”

Strock reportedly replied that she asked the question based on “evidence from the field.”

The Ynet news site says that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Toledano that while his answer was “good,” it was not his place to “characterize” Strock’s question.

Last week Economy Minister Nir Barkat claimed that ground troops in Gaza were being put in danger because they weren’t receiving the necessary air support, a claim quickly quashed by senior military and political officials.

Strock’s comment also may have been based on unfounded claims on the right of the political spectrum, that the Air Force is primarily made up of left-wing pilots who may refuse to carry out missions.