The Israel Defense Forces have advised 30 soldiers who served in the current Gaza war to refrain from international travel, citing the risk of arrest or investigation following legal actions initiated by pro-Palestinian groups.
At least eight IDF personnel were ordered to immediately leave countries such as Cyprus, Slovenia and the Netherlands, while dozens of lawyers have been engaged internationally in response to blacklisting efforts, Ynet reported on Wednesday.
Additionally, soldiers who served in Gaza have been directed to delete any combat-related materials and refrain from sharing photos or videos of themselves abroad on social media.
The IDF believes that the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Nov. 21 could encourage additional arrests and legal actions globally, extending to senior military officers as well as regular and reserve soldiers who served in Gaza.
Although the IDF has not implemented a blanket travel ban, the report states that it now performs “risk assessments” for each soldier requesting to travel abroad, with a focus on those who served in the Strip. This policy has been strengthened since the ICC decision.
Soldiers and officers traveling abroad are being advised to avoid publicly revealing their locations.
Despite a policy in place since the beginning of the war prohibiting the sharing of images and videos from operations in Gaza on social media, many have continued to post such content online in violation of the guidelines, and numerous posts remain undeleted.
An inter-ministerial team, led by the Justice and Foreign ministries in collaboration with the IDF’s International Law Department, has been established alongside a team of legal experts, which includes representatives from the Mossad and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), to monitor developments in various countries.
