At least 21 Dutch nationals without family ties to Israel joined the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) in the last three years, according to figures quoted by Trouw.
The data was obtained from the American organisation Friends of the IDF (FIDF) and Nefesh B’Nefesh which finances the IDF’s foreign troops.
Most of the so-called “lone soldiers” are from the United States which heads the list with 1,089, followed by Russia with 684 and France with 443, the figures show.
In total, some 3,709 people from 70 countries volunteered to fight for Israel. It is unknown if any of them were deployed in Gaza, Israel or the occupied West Bank.
NGO Hatzlacha had already published publicly accessible documents, showing that in March last year, at least 645 Dutch nationals with an Israeli passport served in the IDF.
International courts of law are currently investigating accusations of genocide and other war crimes committed by the IDF in Gaza, which would have consequences for any Dutch volunteers who participated. “Crimes against international law would include genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes,” international law expert Marieke de Hoon told the paper.
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