In a development that has shaken Israel’s military establishment, pro-Palestinian organizations have initiated a wave of legal challenges across various countries against Israeli soldiers over alleged war crimes in Gaza. According to information given by Israel’s public broadcaster KAN, some 50 complaints were filed against reserve soldiers; 10 of them are already under investigation.
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, these court cases against them mount in several continents-from the courts of South Africa to those of Sri Lanka, via European countries like Belgium and France and Brazil. Although no actual arrests are made, an accumulation of such litigations has started to make the Israeli military personnel nervous about traveling abroad.
But for Sarah Cohen, a Tel Aviv-based legal analyst, the bottom line is different: “These cases represent an unprecedented legal challenge for Israeli military personnel. The international nature of these complaints adds layers of complexity that we haven’t seen before in such numbers.”
The situation has forced the Israeli security authorities to rethink what they describe as “high-risk” travel of military personnel. Stopping short of an outright ban on travel to certain countries, officials handle each case with more caution. The military personnel have also been advised to show limited use of social media, reflecting growing concern over digital footprints that could be used in legal proceedings.
All travel plans to the international destinations are under the approval of senior commanders for active-duty soldiers. Nevertheless, there is a considerable lacuna in the monitoring of the travel of reservists, which is putting Military Advocate General’s Corps on high alert.
There is a specific problem,” says David Levy, a former military counsel, “because there is a separate issue between active-duty personnel and reservists. Although we can track and direct the active soldiers, reservists seldom experience the same kind of institutional supervision, which may subject them to legal limitations outside of the country.
The outcome of these legal efforts has ramifications far beyond the courtroom, influencing plans for Israelis of civilian status and the Israeli military personnel. Others have been forced to postpone holiday and business travel because of worries of being put in legal risk in some countries.
IDF in Gaza
These advances occur in a time when international attention has been focused on military activity in Gaza. Human rights organizations have long and repeatedly demanded an inquiry for alleged violations within international humanitarian law, but Israeli authorities continue to say that their operations fully follow international legal norms.
The situation continues to evolve, with Israeli security and legal experts working to develop comprehensive guidelines for military personnel planning international travel. In the meantime, the international legal order looks on closely as these cases develop in different legal systems around the world.
With the development of this situation, the relationship between military service, international law, and free movement creates new and unprecedented obstacles to Israeli forces’ and the system responsible for their protection’s response to pressures on both sides within the legal system.
The effect of those legal proceedings could be of great precedential value to how service people of different countries manage international travel in a world where global legal interdependence is increasing, and military operations are under greater scrutiny.
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