Shades of 1970 and Vietnam....we say free them.

An Israeli military court sentenced five young men to a year in prison yesterday for refusing to serve in the army as long as the Jewish state occupies the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The five are part of a growing movement that the military has had to contend with since the Palestinian uprising began more than three years ago. Hundreds of soldiers, alleging human rights abuses against Palestinians, have refused to serve in the West Bank and Gaza including, just last month, 13 members of the crack Sayeret Matkal, the most storied unit in the Israeli military.

Five teenaged conscientious objectors (L to R), Matan Kaminer, Adam Maor, Haggai Matar, Noam Bahat, Shomri Zameret, stand in front of a military court in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv January 4, 2004, after being sentenced to one year in prison for refusing to serve in the Israeli army. The five were convicted last month for refusing an order to carry out obligatory service. REUTERS/Yossi Aloni

But the five are different from other dissenters in several ways. For one thing, they refuse to be drafted altogether, not just to serve in the occupied territories. In a country in which the military is more venerated than any other public institution, not serving can be one of the most alienating things an Israeli can do. And the five will pay a much heavier price than other dissenters, who typically have been ordered to spend about a month in detention.

The yearlong sentence the five received is in addition to the 14 months they have been locked up while awaiting trial.