Israeli military hardens media rules over possible war crimes prosecution

The Israeli military has introduced new limitations on the press coverage of soldiers who are on active combat duty, as a result of possible legal action against reservists travelling abroad over accusations of participating in war crimes in Gaza, The New Arab and agencies reported on January 9th.

The restrictions have been put in place after an Israeli reservist who was taking a break away in Brazil left the country when a Brazilian judge ordered federal police to launch an investigation. The investigation was launched due to allegations being made by a pro-Palestinian group that he had carried out war crimes while serving in Gaza.

The new rules mean that media interviewing soldiers of Colonel level and under will not be able to show their full names or faces, which is similar to the existing rules for pilots and members of special forces units, Israeli military spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters.

The New Arab and agencies