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The South African government is threatening a major political move to arrest anyone – even its own citizens – who serve in the Israel Defense Forces.

Campaigns are even underway to push several other governments to follow South Africa’s lead and prosecute their own citizens, – most notably in France, where proponents cite allegations of war crimes levelled against Israel by the U.N. and others. No other nations have followed suit yet, and South Africa is still just sitting on the possibility.

Since SA has accused Israel of genocide in the International Court of Justice, our Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor kicked up the growing questions about legal consequences for IDF troops who hold other citizenship this week.

In a speech at a summit on Palestinian solidarity, Pandor said she was putting South Africans who fight in the IDF on notice.

“We are ready. When you come home, we are going to arrest you,” Pandor said as vigorous applause rang out.

This is raising legal, moral and strategic questions for a military that relies heavily on foreign-born troops to fill its ranks, per NBC News.

What effect will the decision have on IDF readiness amid the Israel-Hamas war? Could South Africa’s move create a chilling effect that would dissuade people from taking the risk of serving? And what about dual nationals, who have no choice under Israeli law but to complete mandatory military service?

On October 7, Israel invaded the Gaza Strip after Hamas launched a terror attack, killing more than 1,200 people and taking hundreds more hostage. During five months of war, Israeli forces have killed more than 31,000 in Gaza amid a humanitarian crisis so dire that aid agencies are rushing in food by airdrop and by sea.

In South Africa’s case, the government has threatened to prosecute citizens or strip their citizenship for merely joining the IDF, even if they’re not personally accused of any wrongdoing in the war. South Africa is citing local laws it says can impose consequences on South Africans who join foreign militaries without South Africa’s permission or fight in wars the nation disagrees with.

Peter Spiro, who teaches international law at the Temple University Beasley School of Law, said governments would put themselves in a tight corner by applying “collective guilt” to individual citizens for specific, alleged crimes committed by the IDF.

“They couldn’t just say, ‘The IDF is engaging in war crimes, so you are guilty of a war crime,’” said Spiro, an expert on dual citizenship. “They could say, ‘You participated in the following episode that involved war crimes.’”

It’s unclear exactly how many foreign nationals are serving in the Israel-Hamas war, but dual nationals make up a sizable share of society in Israel. Many children of foreign-born Israelis also receive second citizenship through their parents.

For a long time now, South Africa has been among the fiercest critics of Israel and the war in Gaza, with top leaders often comparing Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories to South Africa’s former apartheid regime of racial discrimination.

Meanwhile, there are signs that other nations are grappling with whether participation by their citizens in the war can or should be criminalised.

[source:nbcnews]