By Staff, Agencies

Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday warned members of ‘Israeli’ Knesset [parliament] from his Likud party against disparaging reservist soldiers who have refused to serve in protest of the government’s so-called ‘judicial’ overhaul, after two ministers sparked an outcry over their harsh criticism of the troops.

“Refusals are a dangerous phenomenon that needs to be firmly opposed, but when we do, even in the heat of the moment, it must be done within the limits of the discourse,” Netanyahu said at a meeting with Likud MKs.

“Our goal is to try to calm tensions and not inflame them, and this applies to everyone without exception,” Netanyahu said, according to Hebrew media reports.

Also Tuesday, Zionist War Minister Yoav Gallant of Likud leveled barely-veiled criticism at fellow members of the government who spoke out against the protesting reservist soldiers.

Both statements appeared to be referring to comments made this week by so-called Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi and Information Minister Galit Distel Atbaryan, both of Likud.

Karhi wrote in a social media post marking the Purim holiday that those who refuse to show up for the ‘Israeli’ military reserve duty in protest of the ‘judicial’ plan can “go to hell.”

Atbaryan said on Twitter that “there were soldiers here who took the bones of their brothers out of the grave and did not refuse an order,” a reference to military rabbis who dug up bodies to be shifted from ‘Israeli’ settlements in Gaza during the 2005 disengagement.

A group of reservists also protested outside Karhi’s home on Tuesday, telling him he had caused permanent damage with his incendiary remarks.

Government leaders, military brass and others have reacted with shock to the wave of protests by reservists, which ratcheted up Sunday as 37 out of 40 fighter jet pilots from a key squadron announced they would refuse to take part in a training exercise due to the overhaul and a rise in West Bank settler violence. The pilots said Tuesday they would show up to base as ordered, but only for discussions, and not training.

Senior opposition figures Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, and Avigdor Liberman also have expressed opposition to reservists’ calls to boycott their duties but voiced understanding of their motives. Gantz and Eisenkot are both former ‘Israeli’ military chiefs of staff.