Motivation to join Israel Defense Forces combat units was up 3 percent among new recruits in the March 2014 induction, which began on Sunday, figures released by the IDF showed. According to the data, 74.7% of qualified recruits had put in requests to serve as combat soldiers in the current induction, compared with last year's 71.6%. March 2011 saw the highest figure, with 79.5% of qualified recruits putting in requests for combat service. The uptick goes against last year's trend, which saw fewer numbers of new recruits aiming for IDF combat units. In last November's induction, only 70.3% of qualified recruits sought to try out for combat units. The IDF attributed those low numbers to the lack of bigger violent conflicts, which it said caused fewer qualified recruits to seek combat roles. The IDF also said the figures were not a concern because they fell within standard deviation, and were still relatively high. Still, the army said it would "track" the trend. The March induction to IDF field units was due to start on Sunday. Young men and women from across the country were gearing up to be recruited to field combat units, combat support and administrative positions. According to IDF data, qualified recruits who were accepted to combat units got one of their top three choices. Of the new recruits, some 383 are graduates of pre-IDF preparatory programs and 220 are members of the Druze community. Manpower Directorate chief Maj. Gen. Orna Barbivai told this year's new recruits on Sunday that "the 'people's army' has been and will be one of Israeli society's principal foundations, and we in the IDF are committed to allowing every recruit to receive respectful and appropriate service in his surroundings." Still, the trend was not applicable to everybody who was supposed to be recruited in March -- a few dozen young people sent letters to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing their refusal to serve and saying they would not enlist in the IDF. The main reason for their refusal was, according to them, the ongoing military occupation of the West Bank and the army's penetration into civil life. The Yesh Gvul movement said in response, "We are proud of the young people who are refusing to take part in oppression and calling on the government to end the occupation."
