Hebrew media: More than 50,000 soldiers in the Israeli army hold foreign citizenships
OCCUPIED PALESTINE, Feb. 15 (YPA) – 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 the Israeli genocide in Gaza on 7 October 2023, the occupation 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.
Separately, an investigative report aired by Al Jazeera revealed that six Israeli snipers holding dual nationalities were involved in systematic killings of civilians in Gaza, in what would constitute violations of international humanitarian law.
The publication of these figures marks an unprecedented step in transparency regarding the composition of the Israeli armed forces, while intensifying international scrutiny over potential cross-border legal accountability linked to the Gaza conflict.
@E.Y.M