21 Aug 2025
Palestine Solidarity activists in Thailand seek curbs on Israeli visitors
Bangkok — The Palestine Solidarity Campaign Thailand, a group of activists, companies and organisations supporting statehood and independence for the State of Palestine, as per Thai government policy, has submitted a letter to the President of the Thai Parliament calling for action to inspect and screen Israelis and dual-citizen Israelis visiting Thailand. The letter also calls for a suspension of Thai workers being sent to Israel, an end to all arms deals and a severance of diplomatic relations.
The letter will force a public discussion about the impact of this long-running conflict on Thai tourism and its nexus with Thai foreign policy vis a vis economic and commercial interests. It will accelerate the onrushing impact of local, regional and global geopolitical and geoeconomic turbulence on the future of Thai tourism, well beyond the traditional comfort-zone topics of climate change, AI and sustainability.
In July 2025, Israeli visitors to Thailand totalled 42,557, an increase of 187.8% over 14,783 arrivals in June 2025, the highest growth rate of arrivals from all countries for that month. For the Jan-July 2025 period, Israeli visitors totalled 136,677, up 59.26% over Jan-July 2024.
Many of these tourists are young soldiers and reservists “seeking rest, relief, and inner peace” from the impact of the war with Palestine. According to the tourism marketing brief, “Thailand offers emotional recovery after intense military service through nature, warmth, Thai Massage and wellness, silence, and emotional safety.” The soldiers reportedly find Thailand a safe and welcoming society for post-war Rest, Recuperation and Relaxation.
However, the letter submitted by PSC Thailand Chairperson Prof Adisara Khatib (image below) to Parliament speaker Wan Muhammad Nor Matha says these soldiers are widely being accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, all of which is being widely documented by UN agencies, Israeli NGOs and the media and openly being bragged about by senior Israeli politicians themselves. News reports in Israel are also extensively reporting on the mental health crisis plaguing Israel.
The letter notes that Israeli “tourists” all have a history of serving in the Israeli military. Many of them are now being tracked by watchdog groups such as the Hind Rajab Foundation, set up to identify, detect and prosecute suspected Israeli war criminals. It has compiled a database of at least 20,000 such Israelis.
Two suspects were tracked to Thailand. The Hind Rajab Foundation submitted reports to the Thai Police, Ministry of Justice, and the Royal Thai Embassy in The Hague, urging Thai authorities to arrest these individuals and prevent their escape. However, no government agency responded or took any action. Says the letter, “These criminals continue to enter Thailand freely, without visas, enjoying leisure in our country without any accountability for their heinous crimes. As a nation proud of its hospitality and peace-loving nature, Thailand must not become a sanctuary for those accused of crimes against humanity.”
Says the letter, “Mr. President, we must state unequivocally that there is no such thing as “neutrality” in the face of genocide. The actions outlined above demonstrate that the Thai government is, in effect, standing with a terrorist state that is slaughtering civilians and children with impunity. As citizens and residents of Thailand, we cannot accept this. This is not only a serious violation of human rights but also poses grave security and safety risks to all of us — from Thai workers exploited in Israel, to pro-democracy activists in Thailand surveilled with Israeli technology, to Thai communities now finding war criminals embedded within their own society.”
“Thailand must stand alongside Global South countries that have taken a firm stand against genocide, such as South Africa, Malaysia, Colombia, Honduras, and others that have formed The Hague Group to jointly file legal action against Israel, suspend arms shipments, and prohibit vessels suspected of transporting weapons from docking at member states’ ports. Meanwhile, the Maldives has imposed a complete ban on Israeli passport holders from entering the country.”
“We call on the Thai government to recognize that Thailand is neither powerless nor without options — and must not remain silent or neglect its role in addressing the ongoing genocide.”
It adds, “We request that these urgent matters be raised for parliamentary debate and that our demands be formally presented to the Thai government. We further request that Parliament consider establishing a special parliamentary commission to examine Thailand’s obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, in order to ensure a systematic and holistic approach.”
The move by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign is set to create another headache for Thai foreign policy decision-makers and the tourism industry, potentially far worse than the Thai-Cambodian conflict.
One of the most important is the relationship between reciprocal accessibility and the implications for sovereignty.
Israelis walk into Thailand visa-free, no questions asked. Israel denies the same reciprocal courtesy to Thais wishing to visit Israel. Treated as guilty until proven innocent, they are subject to rigorous interrogation and security checks at every step, including the Israeli embassy and border checkpoints. The whetting process is blatantly discriminatory and racist as Thai Buddhists and Thai Christians are treated differently from Thai Muslims.
Israelis also attend conferences and exhibitions in Thailand as speakers and exhibitors. As the Israeli government advances its agenda to “relocate” Palestinians out of Gaza and the West Bank, the growing anti-Israeli anger worldwide will lead to boycotts of MICE events with Israeli participation.
Israelis are also heavily involved in Thai tourism industry as investors, developers, consultants, technology and communications gurus, and much more. Many dual-citizen Israelis use Thailand as a base to operate throughout ASEAN, posing national security risks to the regional countries, especially the Muslim-majority countries of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalaam.
On paper, the Thai government recognises the State of Palestine, votes in favour of Palestine at UN forums and also extends financial support to agencies such as the UN Relief Works Agency (UNRWA). It also says it supports the two-state solution. However, in reality, economic and commercial interests take priority and it’s business as usual.
Just as the Thai-Cambodian conflict has severely impacted travel & tourism, so too will the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In fact, if the local political instability, the situation in neighbouring Myanmar, the South Thailand unrest, the Ukraine-Russia war and the disruptions caused by the Trump tariffs are included, domestic, regional and global geopolitical and geoeconomic conflicts will become by far the biggest determinants of Thai tourism fortunes in the years ahead.
Sweeping them under the carpet and trying to counter them with gimmicky marketing campaigns will become exercises in futility.