British Anti-Israel Groups Pushing UK To Screen IDF Veterans At Border

British anti-Israel organizations have launched a petition and public campaign calling on the UK government to screen IDF veterans with British citizenship and travelers from Israel at the border.

As of Tuesday, almost 14,000 people had signed the petition, which was launched by Declassified UK and the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians.

The groups called on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to impose a disclosure requirement for IDF service, screen Israelis and those traveling from Israel for alleged war crimes, and investigate or prosecute IDF veterans and service members.

“It’s possible that British people are taking part in a genocide and returning home to live, work and socialise alongside us. It is a truly chilling thought and it poses a serious threat to our national security,” ICJP’s Jonathan Purcell said.

The petition also said, “Nobody wants to live next to a potential war criminal – not least members of the Palestinian community in the UK who have family or friends who have been subjected to war crimes.”

Declassified UK also promoted the campaign through Instagram advertisements claiming that dual-national IDF veterans may have been involved in a supposed genocide in Gaza in which bodies were “literally vaporized.”

Declassified UK claimed that more than 2,000 British-linked nationals served in the IDF. The group said the figure was based on a Freedom of Information request submitted to the IDF by Israeli lawyer Elad Man of the NGO Hatzlacha.

According to Declassified UK, the data showed 1,686 British-Israelis and 383 people with British, Israeli, and another nationality served in the IDF as of March 2025, for a total of 2,069.

The campaign came after London’s Metropolitan Police reviewed allegations against 10 British nationals who were accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity while fighting in Gaza. According to Declassified UK, police closed the review after deciding they could not carry out an effective investigation and did not have a realistic chance of securing a conviction. 

Declassified UK also argued that Britain already warns citizens who travel to Ukraine to fight that they could face prosecution on return, while claiming there is no equivalent warning for Britons who serve in the IDF.

UK travel advice for Ukraine says traveling to fight or assist others engaged in the war “may amount to offences under UK legislation” and that “You could be prosecuted on your return to the UK.”

Declassified UK said the open letter was signed by more than 60 public figures, including human rights lawyer Michael Mansfield, genocide scholar Martin Shaw, former British army general Charlie Herbert, Green Party leader Zack Polanski, and Labour MP Diane Abbott.

The campaign drew criticism from Jewish leaders in Britain.

“At a time of rising antisemitism, it is particularly disturbing to see calls for the monitoring of dual British-Israeli citizens,” Russell Langer, director of public affairs at the Jewish Leadership Council, told Jewish News.

Langer warned that demonizing Israelis is not simply criticism of a foreign government, but the targeting of people by nationality. He said such rhetoric could expose British Jews with ties to Israel to hostility and violence.

No direct response was found from the UK Home Office, Foreign Office, Israel, or the IDF to this specific campaign. The petition remains active as anti-Israel organizations press Western governments to investigate citizens who served in the IDF, while Jewish leaders warn that such efforts risk targeting British-Israelis and Jews with ties to Israel.