At least 645 Dutch nationals served in Israeli military during Gaza war, records show
At least 645 people holding Dutch nationality were serving in the Israeli military in March 2025, during the height of Israel’s war in Gaza, according to figures released by the Israeli army in response to information requests by investigative organizations. The disclosures have heightened scrutiny over the potential criminal liability of Dutch nationals if individual involvement in international crimes were to be established, NRC reported.
The data show that 559 Israeli soldiers held both Israeli and Dutch nationality, while another 86 held Dutch nationality alongside Israeli and at least one additional passport. The figures reflect a single moment in time and are based on self-reporting by soldiers. It is not excluded that some individuals were counted more than once, NRC wrote.
International courts are currently examining whether Israel and individual Israeli soldiers committed international crimes in Gaza. If evidence were to show that Dutch nationals personally took part in acts such as genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, they could face prosecution in the Netherlands, regardless of where the alleged crimes occurred.
The documents were made public following requests by transparency groups, including the British investigative website Declassified UK and the Israeli NGO Hatzlacha. They cover Israeli citizens with dual or multiple nationalities who were actively serving in the military in March 2025, when Israeli forces were carrying out large-scale bombardments and ground operations in Gaza and the territory was largely sealed off from the outside world.
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service said it is “not prohibited” for Dutch-Israelis to enlist in the Israeli military. “The mere fact that someone serves in the Israeli army does not mean that person can be criminally prosecuted,” the service said. That assessment changes, it added, if there is proof of personal involvement in serious international crimes.
“This is not a purely theoretical issue,” said Marten Zwanenburg, a professor of military law at the University of Amsterdam and the Netherlands Defense Academy. “There are, of course, indications that the Israeli army has committed serious crimes in Gaza.” The key question, he said, would be whether individual Dutch nationals could be shown to have personally contributed to such crimes.
Criminal investigations into Israelis with dual nationality are already underway in countries including Germany, France and Belgium. One case involves a soldier from Manchester who served in an ultra-Orthodox combat unit that was later subjected to U.S. sanctions for serious human rights violations. Another concerns a sniper from Munich suspected of executing Palestinian civilians in Gaza in 2024.
The identities of the Dutch nationals serving in the Israeli military are not public. Advocacy groups such as the Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation say they are actively searching for Israeli soldiers in Europe suspected of criminal offenses.
The figures released by the Israeli army show that more than 50,000 soldiers and reservists — out of a total force of about 470,000 — held at least one additional passport in March 2025. American nationality was the most common second citizenship, followed by French, Russian, Ukrainian and German. The list also included far rarer nationalities, including Trinidad and Eswatini.
The documents do not indicate where the Dutch nationals were deployed. They may have served in Gaza, inside Israel, or in the occupied West Bank. The tally also does not include so-called “lone soldiers” — foreign volunteers without Israeli citizenship. Such cases are known from the United Kingdom; none have been publicly confirmed from the Netherlands.
About 1 million of Israel’s roughly 10 million residents hold a second passport. Many have little connection to the country of their additional nationality and may never have lived there, have no family ties, or speak the language. For many Israelis, a European passport primarily offers the ability to live and work in the European Union.
The Israeli government has reportedly long been aware of the legal risks faced by soldiers with foreign citizenship. Leaked documents show that in 2019 the Israeli Ministry of Justice commissioned a memorandum from the Dutch law firm JahaeRaymakers examining potential exposure under Dutch criminal law.
The memo analyzed Article 205 of the Dutch Criminal Code, which prohibits recruiting people for foreign military service without permission from the king and carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison. Despite that provision, the firm concluded there were “no significant risks” for Dutch nationals joining the Israeli military, noting that the article has historically been applied only in cases involving recruitment for extremist terrorist groups. “This implies that prosecution in the case of the Israeli army is unlikely,” the advice stated.bThe firm cautioned, however, that a strict reading of the law could suggest such recruitment is indeed prohibited, even if Dutch prosecutors appear unwilling in practice to apply that interpretation.
Zwanenburg confirmed that serving in a foreign army is not, by itself, a criminal offense under Dutch law. He cited two exceptions: if the individual is also serving in the Dutch military without permission, or if the foreign force is at war with the Netherlands. “And even then,” he said, “it is always the question whether the Public Prosecution Service will actually bring a case. But the possibility of prosecution certainly exists.”
The disclosures come amid intensifying international criticism of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. Israeli authorities have acknowledged that about 70,000 Palestinians were killed during the war, a figure similar to earlier reports from Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israel has been accused of war crimes and genocide by international bodies and experts, including U.N. special rapporteur Francesca Albanese. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion stating that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories violates international law and must end.
