The Israeli military has decided to hide the identity of its soldiers amid efforts by pro-Palestinian organizations to have Israeli soldiers investigated for war crimes while traveling abroad.
Under the new policy, combat troops will now have their faces blurred and names hidden in any interviews they give to the media. Soldiers will also not be “linked” to a specific incident in Gaza.
Only senior officers above the rank of brigadier general will have their faces and names shown.
The new policy does not deal with the main source of evidence of IDF soldiers committing war crimes, which is their own social media posts. An Israeli soldier recently fled Brazil after a Brazilian court ordered an investigation into him for potential war crimes based on social media posts that showed the destruction of Palestinian homes.
The charges against the IDF soldier who fled Brazil were brought forward by the Hind Rajab Foundation, named after a five-year-old girl killed by the IDF in Gaza. The foundation and other pro-Palestinian groups have filed 50 complaints in courts around the world against Israeli soldiers.
According to The Times of Israel, the Israeli military has done little to stop soldiers from sharing such content online besides advising against it. Amid the global campaign against IDF soldiers, Israeli media published a guide to avoid being arrested overseas, which also advised against the social media posts.
