When basically every Israeli is "Israeli troops," it really doesn't mean much.
I have an immigrant friend from a country (not Israel) with mandatory military service. He spent a year playing a French horn or something in a military band -- whoop-de-fucking-do. But people like the article writer would have us believe that he's equivalent to the most gung-ho zealot commando simply because he did the bare minimum of his legal obligation.
It's just dishonest and unpersuasive to anyone who isn't ignorant about Israel's conscription policies.
Now, the part about them "openly calling for genocide" -- that's persuasive. But it would've been a lot more so if the writer hadn't flushed their credibility due to the above.
Hence, compulsory military enlistment in Israel is but an old myth. In reality, 35% of the Israeli population carries the burden, while the remaining 65% find ways to avoid military service without having to suffer any consequences.
According to the 1949 Israeli Security Service Law, conscription to military service is compulsory for all Israelis who turn 18. Only two groups are exempt from mandatory military service: the ultra-Orthodox and Arab Israelis. Together these groups constitute over 30% of the Israeli population and, as their birth rate is significantly higher than other groups within Israel, they are set to constitute a whopping 60% of the Israeli population by 2050. The implications of these groups’ continued absence from Israeli military conscription cannot be ignored.^[[2] AVI JAGER | OCTOBER 18, 2018 | https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-myth-of-compulsory-military-service-in-Israel-569779]
When Israeli students finish high school, most must serve two or three years in the country's defence forces.
Is there evidence he has engaged in attacks on civilians, or just that he was drafted into the military? As many have mentioned military service is compulsory for many Israelis and does not directly imply wrongdoing or support of wrongdoings by the Israeli government and military.