The Israeli military imposed new restrictions on media coverage of soldiers on active combat duty amid growing concern over the risk of legal action against reserve soldiers traveling abroad over allegations of involvement in war crimes in Gaza.
The move came after an Israeli reservist vacationing in Brazil suddenly left the country after a Brazilian judge ordered federal police to open an investigation following allegations by a pro-Palestinian group that he committed war crimes while serving in Gaza. Were.
Under the new rules, media interviewing soldiers ranked colonel and below will not be able to display their full names or faces, similar to rules already in place for pilots and members of special forces units, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani , an Israeli military spokesman told reporters.
Interviewees should not be linked to a specific war event in which they participated.
“This is our new guideline for the safety of our troops and to make sure they are protected from these types of events organized by anti-Israel activists around the world,” Shoshani said.
He said that under existing military rules, troops already should not have posted videos and other photos from combat zones on social media “although that is never right and we have a large Army.” He said there were rules and guidelines for soldiers traveling abroad for a long time.
Shoshani said activist groups such as the Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation, which had pressed for action in Brazil, were “making connections” between soldiers who posted content from Gaza and then posted other photos of themselves while on holiday abroad. And used to post videos.
Last year, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant as well as Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri over alleged war crimes in Gaza, sparking outrage in Israel. Was.
Shoshani said there were “a handful” of cases where reservists traveling abroad were targeted, in addition to the Brazilian case, all of which were triggered by activist groups putting pressure on authorities to investigate.
“They didn’t open any investigation, they didn’t press charges or anything like that,” he said.
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