Top IDF officers brief Knesset on military readiness amid reservist protests

Senior military officials brief lawmakers on the readiness of the military amid tensions over the judicial overhaul, during a closed-door meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

The meeting was jointly held with members of two other defense-related subcommittees.

A Knesset spokesperson says the senior Israel Defense Forces officers provided the lawmakers with a “detailed report on the competence and readiness of the army in the face of existing and future needs.”

More than 10,000 reservists who show up for duty on a voluntary basis have said in recent weeks that they would no longer do so in protest of the judicial overhaul, charging that the government’s plans will turn Israel into an undemocratic country.

“In the meeting, the matter of preparations for future effects of the public controversy on the military’s competence and readiness was brought up,” the spokesperson says.

“Additionally, the matter of dealing with those who fail to show up for duty was brought up. The phenomenon is being handled and the steps to prevent its spread were presented,” the spokesperson adds.