New Zealand Activists Launch Genocide Hotline to Track Israeli Soldiers

Wellington, MINA – Activists in New Zealand have launched a “genocide hotline” to track Israeli Zionist soldiers vacationing in the country.

“Israeli soldiers are vacationing in New Zealand,” stated the Palestine Solidarity Network, Aotearoa, in a summary of their campaign.

“We need your help to track them so we can tell them they are not welcome here,” the Palestine Solidarity Network, Aotearoa, said in the campaign summary, as quoted by Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.

The network had previously urged the New Zealand government to suspend the visas of these soldiers in a newsletter last month, stating that Israeli nationals were visiting the country without visas to rest and vacation from the genocide in Gaza.

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However, New Zealand’s Human Rights Commissioner, Stephen Rainbow, urged the network to shut down the hotline.

“The main concern is actually about the precedent it sets in encouraging people to engage in behaviors that could lead to tragic consequences,” Radio New Zealand quoted his statement.

“While the target of this specific post may be one group, there may be other groups who could become targets in the future, and that doesn’t help from a human rights perspective in terms of ensuring people’s safety.”

John Minto, National Chair of the network, however, stated that the service could not harm individuals.

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“We’ve been very clear in everything we’ve communicated that this has nothing to do with the Jewish community. It has nothing to do with Israeli people. This is about Israeli soldiers who are here to rest and vacation from the genocide in Gaza,” he said.

A number of Israeli soldiers, who are alleged to have committed war crimes in Gaza, have been identified and reported to authorities in the countries where they reside by the Brussels-based Hind Rajab Foundation.

Last month, Israel evacuated one of its soldiers from Sri Lanka just before he was called for an investigation into alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

The non-profit organization has also been working to track Israeli soldiers visiting other countries such as Italy and Brazil.

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Yuval Vagdani, an Israeli reserve soldier, fled to Argentina from Brazil, where he was vacationing, after authorities called for an investigation on January 3, 2025. []

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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