Data: 50,000+ Dual Citizens Serve in Israeli Military
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- Hatzlacha obtained data showing 50,000+ Israeli soldiers hold at least one other citizenship, with the US (12,135), France (6,127), Russia (5,067), Ukraine (3,901), and the UK (1,686 dual + 383 triple) leading the breakdown as of March 2025.
- Israel's military comprises roughly 169,000 active personnel and 465,000 reservists, of whom nearly 8% hold dual or multiple citizenships — the first time the Israeli military has disclosed such figures.
- Ilias Bantekas, a professor of transnational law at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, told Al Jazeera that "war crimes incur criminal liability under international law, irrespective of what the law of nationality says," noting dual nationals may also face liability under laws barring foreign military service.
- Palestinian and European rights groups have filed cases in the UK (against 10 unnamed British individuals), Germany (against a Munich-born "Refaim" unit sniper), Belgium, France, Italy, and South Africa, though no dual-national soldiers have yet been arrested.
- The Hind Rajab Foundation filed a landmark ICC complaint targeting 1,000 Israeli soldiers, identifying dual nationals from France (12), the US (12), Canada (4), the UK (3), and the Netherlands (2), assembling evidence partly from soldiers' own social media posts.
- The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians launched the "Global 195" campaign in March 2024 to coordinate private arrest warrants and legal proceedings across multiple jurisdictions against Israeli military and political leadership.
- The ICJ issued provisional measures in January 2024 ordering Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza; rights groups say Israel has violated the order by curbing humanitarian aid, while South Africa's full genocide case remains pending.
Why it matters: The disclosure of 50,000+ dual-national soldiers gives prosecutors in dozens of countries a concrete roadmap for Gaza-related war crimes cases. With an ICC complaint naming 1,000 soldiers and active cases in at least six countries, the data converts abstract accountability debates into a list of names and passports — most from the US, France, Russia, and the UK, whose citizens face the highest legal exposure.
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