UK dual citizens who served in ‘Israel’ army face fresh calls for war crimes probe

People are intensifying calls for UK authorities to investigate dual citizens who served with the ‘Israeli’ military in Gaza after a new investigation highlighted one British national’s presence at a site of apparent destruction.

A four-month probe by Declassified UK has identified Jonathan Burman, a man in his mid-20s from Manchester, as having fought with the ‘Israeli’ military in Khan Younis early in the assault.

Photographs from his private Instagram account, shared with the outlet by a concerned source, show him standing in front of a burning primary school later identified as Al-Farabi school in Bani Suheila, alongside a smiling fellow soldier.

The images were posted in January 2024, weeks after ‘Israeli’ troops occupied the site in mid-December 2023, where Palestinian civilians had sought shelter.

Witnesses described fleeing under fire after airstrikes and the storming of the school.

One resident, Ayman Sahmoud, recalled: “We left our home with nothing… When we arrived at the school, it was already overflowing with displaced families.”

Another, Randa Abu Assi, said her family “fled under fire and survived by a miracle” after shrapnel injuries.

Geolocation experts and satellite imagery confirmed the location.

The ‘Israeli’ military referred to an operation at a different school nearby and did not explain the fire at Al-Farabi; Burman did not respond to requests for comment.

Analysis linked him to the 55th Reserve Paratrooper Brigade’s 66th Battalion, a unit associated with extensive destruction of residential areas.

A former ‘Israeli’ medic from the same battalion, Yuval Green, who left on ethical grounds, described the atmosphere as an “absolute apocalypse,” saying soldiers “could just go and do whatever you want… You could burn down those houses and have no consequences whatsoever.”

Under the Geneva Conventions, extensive destruction of property not justified by military necessity can constitute a war crime.

The case has amplified long-standing demands for scrutiny of dual nationals.

Data obtained via ‘Israeli’ Freedom of Information requests showed more than 2,000 British nationals—1,686 British-‘Israelis’ and 383 with additional nationalities—served in the military amid the Gaza campaign as of early 2025, far higher than previously known figures for “lone soldiers.”

Over 50,000 foreign nationals overall served.

UN Commission of Inquiry member Chris Sidoti has stated that “anyone who has served in the Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza since October 2023 must be considered a suspect for the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide.”

He has specifically urged Western states to investigate dual nationals returning home.

Campaigners, including the Public Interest Law Centre and Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, previously submitted a 240-page dossier alleging war crimes by ten UK nationals; the Metropolitan Police initially declined a full probe but later agreed to a fresh scoping exercise on four after the threat of judicial review.

Public pressure has grown, with tens of thousands signing letters and petitions calling on the UK government to track returning dual citizens, question them about their service, and pursue independent investigations.

Human rights lawyer Daniel Machover has described the lack of questioning on return as “an act of negligence.”

So far, no UK prosecutions of returning ‘Israeli’ military personnel over Gaza have been reported.

The latest revelations about Burman—now back in Britain and previously seen attending a Manchester United match—have renewed focus on whether dual citizenship should trigger automatic scrutiny when individuals return from wars involving international crimes, with advocates insisting authorities can no longer look the other way.