More than 2,000 British nationals have served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) amid its genocide in Gaza, new figures revealed by Declassified UK show.

The numbers, obtained by a freedom of information request to the IDF, include 1,686 British Israelis and a further 383 people with a third passport. Previously, the only public figures were for 54 Britons without Israeli citizenship.

“The UK has clear duties to prevent genocide and avoid assisting unlawful military action,” Paul Heron, a lawyer with the Public Interest Law Centre, told Declassifed.

“Where dual nationals have served in units implicated in atrocities, the authorities must investigate promptly and, where the evidence meets the threshold, pursue arrest and prosecution like any other serious crime,” said Heron.

Novara Media reported in January 2024 that dual British-Israeli citizen Levi Simon had received a hero’s welcome from a UK charity after returning from military service in Gaza, where he filmed himself rifling through women’s underwear drawers.

There are over 50,000 IDF soldiers who have at least one other nationality, with the largest cohorts also holding US, Russian, Ukrainian, French and German citizenship.

In April last year, the Metropolitan police said it was deciding whether to take action after lawyers, including Heron, submitted a dossier accusing 10 Britons of war crimes in Gaza.

The 240-page report accused the suspects of “targeted killing of civilians and aid workers, including by sniper fire, and indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas”.

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