Dual-national Israelis fight alongside army in Gaza despite outrage in France, South Africa

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Service in the Israeli army is not limited to citizens, but also to those with dual citizenship, even if they permanently reside abroad, and to what are known as "lone soldiers" who have no families.

With the start of the war in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, the Israeli army called up reserve soldiers, including those permanently residing abroad.

There are a significant number of Israelis who hold foreign citizenship, particularly in Europe and the US, but exact figures of those soldiers are unavailable.

“Under the Israeli Security Service Law, all Israeli citizens in Israel and abroad are required to enlist in the IDF (Israeli military), even if they hold dual nationality and they permanently reside abroad,” the Israeli Embassy in London said in a statement on its website on Nov. 30.

“Israelis who live abroad need to file an application to determine their military status when they reach the age of 16 and 4 months, and before the age of 19,” it added.

The embassy asked Israelis who wanted to enlist to send an email to the army's representative in Europe.

Military service is mandatory for men and women in Israel at the age of 18, after which soldiers are placed in reserve units.

The Israeli newspaper Globes reported on Oct. 16 that Israel called up hundreds of thousands of reserve soldiers in response to attacks by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, including American Israelis living in the US who returned to Israel on emergency flights.

- Foreigners participating in war on Gaza

The participation of foreign citizens holding Israeli nationality in the war on the Gaza Strip has sparked reactions in recent days in France and South Africa.

“I officially sent a letter to Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti, asking him to use his authority to intervene so that investigations can be opened regarding 4,000 French people present on the front lines in Gaza within the Israeli army,” French lawmaker Thomas Portes wrote on Wednesday on X.

“In the event of war crimes, I request their (the French citizens) presentation before French justice, and I will refer the matter to the public prosecutor under Article 40.

“Regarding the war crimes committed by the Israeli army in Gaza and the West Bank alike, it is unacceptable for French citizens to participate in them,” he said.

The Israeli and French governments have not commented on the statements by the French deputy.

- South Africa rejects its citizens' involvement in Israeli army

South African citizens serving in the Israeli army may face legal action in their home country, where President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the war being waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip as “genocide.”

On Monday, the South African Foreign Ministry said it is “gravely concerned” about reports indicating that Israeli soldiers who are also South African citizens have joined the Israeli army to fight in Gaza or are considering doing so.

“Such action can potentially contribute to the violation of international law and the commission of further international crimes, thus making them liable for prosecution in South Africa,” it warned.

South Africans must have government approval to fight legally in Israel, the ministry clarified, and warning that dual citizens of Israel risk losing their South African citizenship for engaging in a war that the republic "does not support or agree with."

- Lone soldiers

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Wednesday, citing Israeli military data that 2,507 new immigrants to Israel joined the forces in 2021 as "lone soldiers," or soldiers who do not live with their families, including 59 from South Africa.

“This does not count all Israeli soldiers who are dual South African citizens,” it said.

There is no Israeli law that requires the renunciation of Israeli citizenship when obtaining another citizenship. Citizens may hold dual or multiple citizenship.

Israel had 360,000 reserve soldiers mobilized at the start of the war, without specifying how many came from abroad.

According to the website of the Lone Soldiers Center, a "lone soldier" is a soldier in the Israeli army who has no family in Israel to support him or her, a "new immigrant, a volunteer from abroad, an orphan, or an individual from a broken home."

- Number of lone soldiers

According to the center, over 7,000 lone soldiers are serving in the Israeli army, with 45% of them being new immigrants from Jewish communities around the world. Another 50% are Israelis who are orphans or come from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

It said some lone soldiers come from ultra-orthodox neighborhoods that are shunned by their families and communities because they decided to join the army.

Most lone soldiers are assigned to combat units and are highly motivated to serve in the army.

A lone soldier's monthly salary is twice that of a regular soldier in their unit, but it is still insufficient to pay bills, do laundry, buy furniture and home appliances, and buy food for Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest, according to the Lone Soldiers Center.

The army supports rent up to 1,048 shekels ($283) per month, but this is insufficient to create a home in Israel.

According to the center's website, eight lone soldiers have been killed since the start of the war on Gaza.

Since Oct. 7, the army has been waging a destructive war on Gaza, resulting in at least 20,424 Palestinian deaths and 54,036 injuries, mostly children and women.

The conflict has caused immense destruction to infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to Gaza authorities and the United Nations.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul