UK charity advocates for prosecution of British citizens in IOF

TEHRAN (Defapress) - The UK government continues to conceal the precise number of British nationals and dual Israeli citizens who have enlisted in the Israeli occupation forces, as reported by Declassified UK.

In response to ongoing inquiries directed at the Foreign Office, Declassified UK disclosed in September 2023 that 80 British nationals are serving as "lone soldiers" within the Israeli military.

These "lone soldiers" are individuals who join the Israel Defense Forces without immediate family residing in Israel. However, the actual figure of British participants is likely to be greater, as it does not account for dual nationals, whose enlistment often remains unreported.

Additionally, the government has acknowledged the presence of 20 to 30 British citizens residing in illegal settlements in the West Bank.

Israeli reservist Sam Sank from north London expressed to The Times his belief that there are “hundreds if not thousands of Britons fighting for Israel.”

Alongside the Israeli "lone soldier" initiative, the UK also endorses the Mahal program, which permits foreign nationals to serve in the Israeli military and subsequently obtain "permanent Israeli citizenship." Many of these individuals were part of the 360,000 reservists mobilized globally by Israel for assistance.

Rather than confronting the radicalization of British citizens influenced by violent Zionist ideology, the UK government has provided them with protection from prosecution, despite Israel's involvement in war crimes, including apartheid, ethnic cleansing, illegal settlements, arbitrary detentions, and torture.

Desmond Tutu has characterized Israeli apartheid as “worse than South Africa’s.”

In contrast, UK citizens who participated in conflicts in Ukraine or Syria did not enjoy similar immunity. Humanitarian aid workers who traveled to Syria for altruistic purposes faced the revocation of their citizenship and were barred from re-entering the UK. This apparent double standard indicates that Israel may be perceived as exempt from violations of international law.

The Human Aid & Advocacy organization has initiated a campaign on Oxford Street in London, advocating for the prosecution of British citizens who enlist in the Israeli military. The United Kingdom bears both a legal and moral obligation to hold accountable its nationals implicated in war crimes abroad, based on the principle of universal jurisdiction; however, it has repeatedly neglected to fulfill this responsibility.

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has indicated that while the Metropolitan Police in the UK actively pursue investigations into Britons participating in foreign conflicts, there appears to be no record of inquiries into those who have served in the Israeli occupation forces.

In June 2022, the ICJP presented a comprehensive dossier to the police’s Counter Terrorism Command, outlining war crimes and breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention attributed to British individuals within the Israeli military. Nevertheless, authorities have not taken action to investigate returning combatants from "Israel."

Recently, disturbing images and videos have emerged depicting British soldiers in the Israeli army celebrating the devastation in Gaza.

One particularly alarming incident featured Levi Simon, who was recorded waving an Israeli flag in a destroyed school in Gaza, proclaiming, “We’re here, we’re here to stay, we’re not going to take your terror, and they’re going to start teaching Hebrew in this school soon.”

In a related statement, Aryeh King, a British citizen and deputy mayor of al-Quds, expressed his approval of the public humiliation and mistreatment of Palestinian men.

On X, he remarked, “If it were up to me, I would have dispatched D-9 bulldozers, placed them behind mounds of dirt, and ordered them to cover all these hundreds of ants while they’re still alive.”

Such declarations and actions warrant sufficient grounds for initiating investigations into potential complicity in genocide and war crimes.

In light of these developments, Human Aid & Advocacy is launching the #ProsecuteGenocide campaign to call upon the Metropolitan Police to investigate and prosecute British nationals who have traveled to "Israel" to serve in the Israeli military. Given that the UK has a responsibility to act, these matters must be addressed.