Hassan Tahsin

Many political observers optimistically regard the mutiny of a number of Israeli pilots in the Israeli army of occupation as a step towards reducing extremism and violence. Others view it as a beacon of light that may yet illuminate the dark road to peace.

The pilots signed a petition saying they would not take part in military operations directed at Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, which ignited widespread debate in Israel and abroad. This mutiny is not the first of its kind; it is another episode in a wider phenomenon -- the search for peace inside the splintered Israeli society.

Among the most notable mutinies have been the following:

* In 1988, 160 officers signed a petition called and declared their refusal to perform military service in Gaza and the West Bank.

* In another incident, 1,000 Israeli officers of various ranks sent a message to Yitzhak Shamir demanding an end to the idea of a "Greater Israel" in February 1988.

* The number of mutinies increased in congruence with the first intifada of 1987-1990, which was gaining force. Soldiers in the occupying army would encourage their colleagues to leave the service by inscribing phrases on the sides of tanks and armored vehicles.

* The mutiny was repeated during the battles to liberate southern Lebanon when many young Jews refused to join the army, supported by the families of fellow officers who had lost their lives.

* In the year 2000 more than 50 low-ranking officers from a number of battalions in the army signed a declaration refusing to occupy the West Bank and calling on others to not perform military service.

This latest episode is neither new nor surprising and its effects remain very limited. None of the Israeli governments have ever been influenced by the mutinies. They were in fact able to quickly quash them and contain any negative effects.

While the officers' mutiny owes in part to their respect for human life, the Palestinian resistance also played a part in their action.

* The first and second intifada, which started in the year 2000 placed the Israeli army in confrontations unlike any they had trained for. This reduced their efficiency and made them rethink their actions.

* The Al-Aqsa Intifada revealed a weakness in the Israeli army. It lacked the most important pillars on which any army is built; it had no historic depth and no exceptional military leader because they are a new nation that encompasses a number of nationalities united only by the lie of the return to the promised land, which many are beginning to question.

* The length of the current Intifada struck the fear of death and of the future into Israeli society as well as the Israeli military.

* The two Intifadas contributed to the shoddy performance of the army, which in recent evaluations has registered below the lowest allowable standards. Though their enemy is unarmed and possesses only stones with which to confront the tanks and armored vehicles and helicopters, they have had no success.

The Jews who settled on Palestinian land and call it Israel want to live in peace. But these settlers must realize that they must leave the Palestinians to live in peace too, now that they have acceded to the loss of their land. Otherwise achieving peace will be impossible in light of the continuing violence that deepens the hatred between the parties.