Hell, Yes, They Do Have To Go

Israel's Supreme Court ruled Monday that reserve soldiers have no right to refuse service in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, while soldiers Monday killed three Palestinians, including a gunman

In the case brought by eight reserve soldiers, the high court avoided making a landmark ruling on the legality of Israel's 35-year occupation of the territories.

Israeli reserve soldiers refusing to serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip said that since Israel's occupation of these areas is illegal under international law, they have not broken the law by refusing to serve, reports CBS News Correspondent Robert Berger. But the High court rejected the appeal, saying members of the Israeli armed forces are obliged to serve wherever the army sends them. The court said that refusing to serve in the army will further divide Israeli society.

Also Monday, soldiers demolished the family homes of two Islamic Jihad gunmen who killed four Jewish seminary students in a weekend attack on a West Bank settlement before being shot dead by security forces.

In Monday's violence, a Palestinian gunman broke through a security fence separating Israel from the Gaza Strip and opened fire on soldiers, the army said. Soldiers returned fire and killed the man, who carried two assault rifles, grenades and ammunition clips. He was dressed in an Israeli army uniform, the army said.

Infiltrators are often killed attempting to break through the fence. There have been very few cases in which militants succeeded in crossing the barrier.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, Israeli soldiers killed a 20-year-old in a street clash. The man was lighting another protester's firebomb when he was killed, witnesses said. Army regulations permit soldiers to shoot those holding firebombs because explosive bottles are considered life-threatening.

The army confirmed the incident.

Also in the West Bank, a Palestinian crashed his car into a parked military jeep near a checkpoint and was shot dead by Israeli troops.

The army said the jeep tipped over and one soldier was lightly injured. The Palestinian driver stopped immediately, emerged from his car and approached the jeep, the army said. Soldiers in the jeep opened fire, assuming he was trying to attack them, the army said. The soldiers thought the man carried something in his hand, the army said. It turned out he was unarmed.

Palestinian security officials said the man was a 37-year-old school teacher who delivered groceries after work to make extra money. At the time of the incident, he had groceries in his car, the security officials said.

In the town of Dura in the southern West Bank, soldiers demolished the homes of Ahmed Faqih, 20, and Mohammed Shaheen, 20, who attacked the nearby Jewish settlement of Otniel on Friday. Islamic Jihad the shooting was meant to avenge the killing of a local militia leader by Israeli troops a day earlier.

Troops have been destroying the homes of suspected militants to deter attacks. Palestinians say the practice constitutes collective punishment.

Also Monday, the Israeli human rights group B'tselem said in a report that on Dec. 3, soldiers beat five Palestinians in a Hebron barbershop, forcibly shaved the heads of two of the men and tried to make a third swallow shampoo. Troops also used the five as "human shields" in a clash with stonethrowers, the group said.

The report is based on the testimony of the five Palestinians.

The Israeli military said it has been unable to track down the incident, even though the report provides the address of the barbershop.

B'tselem said the beating was not an isolated occurrence. "This grave incident is only the tip of the iceberg. Cases of punishment and abuse of Palestinians by IDF soldiers in the occupied territories occur daily," it said in a statement.

Since the outbreak of fighting 27 months ago, more than 500 Israeli reserve soldiers have declared that they will not serve in the West Bank and Gaza. Some of the "refuseniks" have been sent to military prison for periods of several weeks.

Among them is Jonathan Ben Artsi, reports CBS News Correspondent Kimberly Dozier, the nephew of arch right-winger and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His family believes the Israeli establishment is trying to make an example of him.

"They view him like their enemy, almost like a Palestinian, like a collaborator, like a traitor," said his mother, Ofra Ben Artsi

Ben Artsi believes his uncle's policies — like sending the Israeli army to re-occupy the West Bank, and expanding Jewish settlements there — have turned Palestinians into the enemy.

"I think the way I acted, if more and more people would act the same way...I think eventually the whole country will go that way," he said.

His parents support him.

"He's not a traitor, said Sky Matania Ben Artsi, his father. "For me, he's the greatest Israeli patriot that could be. I mean, he's standing for his beliefs and he's representing what I believe is the real Israel."