Thailand orders French zoo co-owner expelled after barring Israeli visitors

Thailand’s cabinet issued an expulsion decree against French businessman Kevin Dimino, co-owner of Samui Exotic Park on the tourist island of Koh Samui, after he denied entry to Israeli patrons. The order, signed by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and the interior minister, alleges that Dimino engaged in threats, harassment and physical violence, and that he stirred racial and religious discord. Dimino, who has lived in Thailand for more than ten years, had displayed a Palestinian flag at the park in response to what he described as repeated provocations by Israeli visitors, later claiming to have received hundreds of death threats and posting provocative messages online.

A viral video of a clash with an Israeli family in August heightened the controversy. In a separate case, Israeli citizen Yaacov Ohayon, also a long-term resident of Koh Samui, was ordered expelled after threatening Dimino and his Thai spouse, receiving a suspended fifteen-day jail sentence. The moves come as Thailand tightens its expulsion rules, emphasizing zero tolerance for foreigners who breach local laws amid a tourism-dependent economy.