Our friends at investigative outlet Declassified UK are demanding Brits who served in Israel’s genocidal war machine are held to account. And their new open letter, addressed to home secretary Shabana Mahmood and foreign secretary Yvette Cooper, outlines exactly how to do so.
2000 Brits served in the IOF
The letter was written with International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP). ICJP have fought a long battle against the genocide themselves.
Declassified said on 26 May that many prominent figures had already signed the letter:
Our campaign letter has already been signed by over 60 prominent figures – from lawyers and genocide scholars to military veterans and politicians.
They include human rights lawyer Michael Mansfield, genocide scholar Martin Shaw, former British army general Charlie Herbert, anti-apartheid campaigner Andrew Feinstein, Green party leader Zack Polanski, and the Mother of the House of Commons, Diane Abbott MP.
Declassified reported in February 2026 that over two thousand Brits has served in the Israeli military during the genocide. Yet the UK police announced on 5 May they would not arrest those involved.
The Declassified letter opens:
We, the undersigned, are politicians, lawyers, campaigners, human rights defenders, journalists, and concerned members of the public who believe the public interest is best served by monitoring the entry of British-Israeli dual national citizens into the UK and investigating potential links to war crimes, in cases where they have served in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).
Such concerns are well-founded given extensive documentation of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide perpetrated by the IDF since October 2023.
Recommendations for accountability
The document makes two recommendations, firstly:
Implement a disclosure requirement regarding service in the Israeli military, subjecting travellers with Israeli travel documents or arriving from an origin of Tel Aviv airport to potential secondary screening at ports of entry under domestic war crimes inadmissibility rules and/or adjusted visa policies.
Conduct robust, impartial and independent investigations and prosecutions at national or international levels, in compliance with the obligation to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law, to ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes.
Declassified have repeatedly exposed British collusion with Israel’s genocidaires. This includes spy flights, training military personnel and secretive arms shipments.
The outlet said:
The UK government’s failure to collect data on the movements of potential Israeli war criminals raises serious concerns. Individuals who have returned from fighting in Gaza may now be living alongside us and working in public institutions such as hospitals, the police, and schools.
Nobody wants to live next to a potential war criminal – not least members of the Palestinian community in the UK who have family or friends who have been subjected to war crimes.
Israeli politicians under investigation for war crimes
Declassified reminded the two ministers that senior Israeli politicians like Benyamin Netanyahu were under investigation for war crimes. And that:
the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found “plausible” evidence that genocide has taken place in Gaza, and the UN Commission of Inquiry (UN COI) concluded that “Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza strip” and that “the Israeli authorities have committed the crime against humanity of extermination in the Gaza Strip”.
The authors added:
In light of the opinions of the ICC, the ICJ and the UN COI, the UK government must immediately implement the above measures in order to ensure sufficient scrutiny of IDF soldiers returning to the UK, in the interests of international and domestic law, transparency, and public safety.
The police refusal to pursue potential war criminals, coupled with British government collusion with Israel, are an abject disgrace. The current inaction speaks to the degree to which Palestinian life is disregarded. That might be acceptable to the UK establishment, but it is not acceptable to the Canary, Declassified and many others. Add your name to the letter here.
Featured image via Joel Carillet / Getty Images
By Joe Glenton
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