NAZARETH, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Israeli occupation military has, for the first time, released detailed official data on the number of soldiers who hold foreign citizenship in addition to Israeli nationality, according to the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
The data show that 50,632 soldiers serving in the Israeli military hold at least one additional foreign nationality.
According to the published figures, 12,135 soldiers hold US citizenship, the largest group by a significant margin, followed by more than 6,100 French nationals and over 5,000 Russian nationals.
The list also includes thousands of recruits from Germany, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Romania, Poland, Canada, and several Latin American countries.
The diversity is not limited to Western states. The data also indicate the presence of soldiers holding Arab nationalities, including Yemen, Tunisia, Lebanon, Syria, and Algeria, though in limited numbers.
The figures further reveal that 4,440 soldiers hold two foreign nationalities in addition to Israeli citizenship, while 162 soldiers possess three or more foreign citizenships.
Since the outbreak of Israel’s genocide in Gaza on 7 October 2023, the Israeli military has relied on tens of thousands of dual and multi-national soldiers in its operations.
The participation of foreign nationals has prompted legal scrutiny abroad under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows national courts to prosecute individuals accused of war crimes regardless of where the alleged crimes were committed.
Prominent international organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have called for independent investigations and urged Western governments to fulfill their legal responsibilities regarding their citizens allegedly involved in violations.
Legal and civil initiatives have already emerged in several countries. In Canada, federal police have reportedly opened investigations into suspected war crimes that may involve dual-national reservists.
In Belgium and the United Kingdom, human rights groups have filed complaints with the International Criminal Court and domestic law enforcement authorities targeting hundreds of soldiers, including individuals holding European citizenship.
Legal experts note that some foreign nationals serving in the Israeli army, including Britons, could face exposure under domestic laws such as the UK’s Foreign Enlistment Act of 1870, which prohibits citizens from fighting for a foreign state under certain conditions.
Britain’s recent recognition of a Palestinian state may further complicate the legal status of such service.
Following the International Court of Justice’s warning in January 2024 of a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza, some legal analysts argue that states may be obligated to investigate whether their nationals were involved in violations of international law, raising potential accountability questions beyond Israel’s borders.
Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which lasted two years, resulted in more than 72,000 Palestinians martyred and over 171,000 injured, in addition to the destruction of approximately 90 percent of civilian infrastructure in the Strip.
