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Israel has warned its soldiers not to post on social media about their actions in Gaza after a Brazilian court ordered police to investigate a visiting Israeli soldier accused of war crimes.
The move, launched by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a pro-Palestinian group, was based in part on video footage and photographs that HRF showed the military engaging in the demolition of homes in Gaza.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Sunday that embassy officials in Brazil immediately helped the man leave the country without arrest.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs draws the attention of Israelis to posts on social media about their military service, which anti-Israel elements may use to file frivolous legal cases against them,” the ministry added.
Brussels-based HRF hailed the decision by a federal court in Brazil to recognize jurisdiction over the case and prompt police action as “groundbreaking”.
“This is a historic moment,” said HRF Chairman Diab Abu Jah. “It is a great example for countries to take bold steps to hold perpetrators of war crimes accountable.”
The incident is the latest example of legal failure in Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which has so far killed more than 45,800 people, which Palestinian officials say has reduced much of the territory to uninhabitable rubble and worsened the humanitarian carnage.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called Benjamin Netanyahu’s government a “A major political failure.” Netanyahu argues in part that the establishment of a regional commission of inquiry into the war – which he opposed – would have helped to avoid such legal action.
“How did we get to the point where the Palestinians are superior to the state of Israel on the international stage?” He wrote on X.
In the year On October 7, 2023, it opened fire on Gaza in response to an attack by Hamas, during which militants claimed to have killed 1,200 people and taken 250 hostages.
The United Nations High Court is hearing South Africa’s case alleging that Israel committed genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. On the other hand, the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Israel strongly denies genocide and has called the South African case “grossly distorted”. Israel said its forces in Gaza were operating in accordance with international law, and Netanyahu’s office dismissed the arrest warrant as “anti-Semitic.”
Abu Jahjah said HRF had submitted evidence to the ICC against about 1,000 Israeli soldiers to help bolster its case against Israeli leaders.
He also said that the group has been monitoring the activities of soldiers it suspects to have participated in war crimes on their social networks.
“We knew he was in Brazil and three days later we presented him with a 400-page dossier,” Abu Jahja said. “We will not target all Israeli soldiers, only those suspected of war crimes.”
He added that they are collecting evidence regarding the violations of international law that have taken place “from entering houses and looting and destroying property to destroying all settlements including hospitals, civil infrastructure and houses of worship.”
“There’s also killing people, kidnapping people, torturing people and dealing with prisoners,” he said.
The HRF also filed war crimes complaints against dozens of Israeli soldiers with dual citizenship, including from Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
Some of these cases are still in the preliminary investigation stage, Abu Jah said, while others have been dismissed by national judicial bodies and are being appealed by HRF. “We are optimistic about the situation in Belgium,” he said.
