An Israeli national accused of offering a bounty against the owner of an open zoo on Koh Samui has had their permission to stay in Thailand revoked, according to Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul.

Speaking before the Cabinet meeting at Government House on 25 August 2026, Mr Surasak said he had received a report on the case, from authorities in Surat Thani province. The visitor involved had had their visa withdrawn and would not be allowed to remain in the country.

He described the move as firm action intended to stop the matter escalating into further problems.

Thailand remains open, but expects respect for laws

The Tourism and Sports Minister also stated that he supported visa revocations where there are clear cases of foreigners breaking the law, ignoring social norms or traditional ways of life, or provoking conflict.

Mr Sorawong said there had been a number of recent disputes in Samui and Phuket had reportedly involved Israelis and local people, but stressed that they concerned the behaviour of particular individuals rather than foreigners generally.

"We definitely welcome tourists of all nationalities, but on the principle that they must respect and comply with our culture and laws. The recent conflicts in those two provinces could be regarded as involving individuals, which need to be properly addressed on a case-by-case basis," he said.

He said explicit breaches should result in visa cancellation to help avoid further unrest in the affected areas. For expats and tourists, the practical message is that ordinary disputes can take more serious consequences if they involve threats, intimidation, public disorder or conduct judged to offend Thai laws and local customs.

He also said Thailand would not accept foreigners promoting national ideologies that could create wider disputes. He described Thailand as a non-conflict country and said visitors should not use it as a platform for such activity.

Minister also addresses southern security concerns

Separately, he said attacks at several locations in the four southern border provinces during the week were not expected to affect Malaysian arrivals for Malaysia's National Day holiday on 31 August.

Although the government had attempted to prevent violence, simultaneous attacks at a wide range of targets had made it difficult to protect every location fully, he said. Malaysian visitors were familiar with similar incidents and would understand that most tourist destinations had not been targeted.

Picture courtesy of Komchadluek

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26 August 2026

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Personal opinion the Thai government did the right thing...

3 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

offering a bounty

He got off light.

At least blacklist him.

Clearly another case of anti-Semitism. God's chosen people shall stay strong. All the God's chosen people from Patong shall unite and fight together.

& the proof is where if posted by him -if so rightly gets bye bye & banned for life

However if not posted by him hope he uses the defamation laws & computer crimes act laws & sues the arse off them

4 minutes ago, GoodieAfterDark said:

Clearly another case of anti-Semitism. God's chosen people shall stay strong. All the God's chosen people from Patong shall unite and fight together.

Let me repeat the Thai ministers statement: "We definitely welcome tourists of all nationalities, but on the principle that they must respect and comply with our culture and laws". This applies to ALL nationalities and cannot be considered a case of anti-Semitism.

11 minutes ago, GoodieAfterDark said:

All the God's chosen people from Patong shall unite and fight together.

So no "Love Thy Neighbor?"

14 minutes ago, GoodieAfterDark said:

Clearly another case of anti-Semitism. God's chosen people shall stay strong. All the God's chosen people from Patong shall unite and fight together.

And therein lies the problem.

If you are taught that you are special then you will feel that everyone else is un-special. Such arrogance leads to antisocial behaviour and you get problems.

There is not too much humility if you are a "chosen" one.

14 minutes ago, phil2407 said:

& the proof is where if posted by him -if so rightly gets bye bye & banned for life

However if not posted by him hope he uses the defamation laws & computer crimes act laws & sues the arse off them

I don't think Imm. needs a proven reason. We are here at their discretion. Technically permission to stay can be revoked at any time.

Israelis are getting a lot of stick on Thai social media for things such as doing a runner from restaurants.

Im starting to understand why so many people hate them!

"An Israeli national accused of offering a bounty against the owner of an open zoo on Koh Samui has had their permission to stay in Thailand revoked, according to Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul."

As mentioned before you cannot make death threats against other nationalities, under any circumstances. If there is something that offends you then report them to the Thai authorities, do not take the law into your own hands. This individual's action left the Minister no other choice but to revoke his visa.

Off topic post about Malaysia removed @Hancnx discuss the topic, not your own agenda.

6 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

And therein lies the problem.

If you are taught that you are special then you will feel that everyone else is un-special. Such arrogance leads to antisocial behaviour and you get problems.

There is not too much humility if you are a "chosen" one.

Agree 100%. When I hear people say they are the "chosen ones", this makes my blood curdle. A danger to everyone outside that group.

How to lose your visa in Thailand-101.

This simple course will teach you how lose your visa.

Pre-requirements: No brains. No critical thinking skills. Inability to read the room.

Thailand is waking up to the "Chosen Ones".

They already have their Chabad Houses and Synagogues, which they refer to as "Israel territory" in Thailand.

Chabad centres in Thailand: https://www.chabad.org/jewish-centers/country/Thailand

Chabad-Lubavitch maintains a global network of over 6,000 institutions across 100 countries. Why?

Great! Finally the Thai gov't acting with seriousness. You come to another country and act like it is yours or that you can abuse it's people .. you no longer get to come to that country. Why is this hard? Israelis demonstrate so much hatred and elitism toward anyone who is not them. Amazing hubris and cowardice .. hiding behind the wall of American dollars.

Edited Wednesday at 02:09 AM5 days by AaronBux1

I wish nations shared information about those who commit crimes. Do they? Like if this Israeli thinks .. No big deal. I'll just go to the Philippines or Vietnam or Japan or Europe. .. It would be nice if their international travel record was flagged so that other countries can make their own decisions if they want to accept these hateful people or not.

Did these Israelis actual post the bounty...I have yet to see they did...what I've seen is it was mentioned online..but not linked to the tourusts

..can anyone link to any article that links the Israelis to the bounty

Thailand, a "non conflict" country, someone should remind him of the border dispute, if war, building fences, and creating a nationalistic anti Cambodian culture isn't "non conflict" the please educate me.

Take note, "non conflict country" was in the article.

1 hour ago, GoodieAfterDark said:

Clearly another case of anti-Semitism. God's chosen people shall stay strong. All the God's chosen people from Patong shall unite and fight together.

If God's chosen he has a made the wrong one... His people are in war with others for ages ... Not a peaceful god or the wrong people.. It is good that people who ever they are and from which country must respect the laws and rules of the country they visit. If you can't accept them, it is not the country you have to live and stay in. This was a serious offence so the right thing to revoke their visa.

Great. Now we aren’t going to hear the end of how anti semitic everyone is towards them. And then we are going to have to watch something about the holocaust for the next decade to educate the world about it. I know more about the holocaust than almost every other historical event. And it’s not by choice.

1 hour ago, GoodieAfterDark said:

Clearly another case of anti-Semitism. God's chosen people shall stay strong. All the God's chosen people from Patong shall unite and fight together.

You do realize that over 20% of Israeli citizens are Arab? And over 85% of those Arab citizens are Muslim?

Criticism of the Israeli government and it’s citizens is not inherently antisemitism! The article does not mention the Israeli citizen’s religion or ethnicity!

Don’t inject prejudice and racism when it is not warranted!

I am not condoning offering a bounty for one minute. The person doing it deserves the punishment meted out. But didn't I see the Zoo owner or his staff holding up a bullet-holed shooting target to the Israelis? Surely that is a threat of violence and should be taken into account. I wonder how many Israelis are against the religiously fanatical actions of their Leaders? Much the same as citizens of other countries that are guilty of atrocities and are ashamed of their own governments.

10 years in Thailand and this is the first year I'm seeing numerous viral cases of conflict with Israelis. It seems like there is a concentrated effort (perhaps organized) to manufacture viral conflict by baiting tourists. Raising Palestinian flags and slogans like free Palestine and No Israelis in areas known to be heavily toured by Israelis for decades isn't innocent - it is bait.

Can you Imagine what would happen if a shop owner on Soi 3 in Bangkok or Soi 16 in Pattaya displayed Israeli flags and No Arabs on their shop? How is that different?

Thailand does not need imported conflicts.

52 minutes ago, Aussie999 said:

creating a nationalistic anti Cambodian culture

My wife has given up on Cambodians. It is the Israelis she hates now.

Some people should realise you are a guest in Thailand so act like one and respect their laws or suffer the consequences

There is no devine right to stay here

1 hour ago, GoodieAfterDark said:

Clearly another case of anti-Semitism. God's chosen people shall stay strong. All the God's chosen people from Patong shall unite and fight together.

Damn right. I think a gathering is scheduled for this week’s Shabbat and is being held in Mecca. One way tickets are on sale now.

1 hour ago, Brettoj said:

Im starting to understand why so many people hate them!

And we have never seen bad American or Brits or Aussie

On a side note sex on the beach just got more expensive

3 minutes ago, shackleton said:

Some people should realise you are a guest in Thailand so act like one and respect their laws or suffer the consequences

There is no devine right to stay here

But maybe there should be, if married to a Thai.

A guest, sure, always a giggle that one.

But glad his getting booted out.

Edited Wednesday at 03:21 AM4 days by rocketboy2

2 hours ago, phil2407 said:

& the proof is where if posted by him -if so rightly gets bye bye & banned for life

However if not posted by him hope he uses the defamation laws & computer crimes act laws & sues the arse off them

Didn't someone set fire to the house of the Zoo owner's mother in France. Of course it was an accident.🤭

Nice family you have there be a shame if something happened to them!