Zack Polanski has signed an open letter urging the government to track British citizens who have served in the Israeli military.

The letter, organised by Declassified UK, demands home secretary Shabana Mahmood “monitor the entry of British-Israeli dual national citizens into the UK,” alongside investigating and prosecuting those guilty of war crimes. More than 14,000 people have already signed.

The letter references international obligations to ensure accountability for the most serious of crimes. It was published just weeks after Novara Media revealed that the Metropolitan police will not be investigating ten known British nationals accused of war crimes whilst fighting in Gaza.

Earlier this year, Declassified UK revealed that more than 2,000 Brits have served in the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) since October 2023.

MPs Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott, Zarah Sultana and John McDonnell are also amongst the letter’s signatories, alongside campaign groups International Centre of Justice for Palestinians and CAGE International.

Responding to rightwing outrage, a spokesperson for Polanski said: “The IDF has been credibly accused of horrific war crimes in Gaza by bodies including the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and the UK government should be taking robust action against any British citizen complicit in these crimes.”

Israeli forces have killed nearly 73,000 Palestinians since October 2023, including more than 900 since a so-called ceasefire was agreed last year. Israel has violated the terms of the ceasefire on a near daily basis and now occupies around 60% of Gaza and a fifth of Lebanon.

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