https://thecradle.co/articles-id/33996

An Israeli reservist who had served in Gaza and south Lebanon was stopped at Prague’s Vaclav Havel Airport on 28 October and denied entry after Czech border police said France had issued a “criminal alert” blocking his travel across the Schengen zone.

The reservist said officers questioned him for hours before forcing him onto a flight back to Israel, describing the experience as “being treated like a criminal.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it had stepped in to assist but still had “no explanation” for the ban, adding that it was unrelated to his army service.

“I can’t get answers from anyone,” the traveler said, adding, “I don’t understand why we’re being deported or what I supposedly did that led to this kind of ‘warning’ against me.”

The detention began around 9:00 pm on Tuesday, when four armed officers stopped the couple at passport control and informed them that he could not enter.

After extended questioning, Czech officials said the alert originated in France and applied across EU states. The man said local officers told him the French notice accused him of “serious crimes.”

“They said maybe it’s because of my reserve service or that someone stole my identity and used it to commit crimes,” he said. “I’ve never even been to France.”

Czech authorities told him only France could lift the notice and that he was barred from all Schengen countries until then.

The couple said they spent the night trying to reach Israeli officials, finally contacting a consul in Paris the next morning, but received no clear response from French authorities before paying for their own return flight.

The episode has rattled Israeli travelers concerned about database errors or politically driven misuse of cross-border watchlists, leaving the man with an unresolved case he says he cannot explain.

The incident in Prague comes amid international arrest efforts to hold Israeli soldiers accountable for their participation in the genocide in Gaza.

Al Jazeera’s 20 October investigation identified more than 20 Israeli soldiers from the 401st Brigade, including Maj. Shon Glass and Lt. Col. Daniel Ela, for ordering the tank fire that killed six-year-old Hind Rajab, her family, and two paramedics in Gaza City’s Tal al-Hawa in January 2024.

The Brussels-based Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), created after the Rajab family was killed, has since filed an International Criminal Court (ICC) case against the named officers and urged prosecutors to expand their probe to the entire brigade.

HRF says over 1,000 legal cases targeting Israeli soldiers have been filed worldwide, as Israel’s Foreign Ministry works to quietly extract suspects from foreign jurisdictions.