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Israel has warned its soldiers not to post their actions in Gaza on social media, after a Brazilian court asked police to investigate a visiting Israeli soldier accused of war crimes.
The action, launched by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a pro-Palestinian group, was based in part on video footage and photographs that HRF claimed showed a soldier participating 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 detention.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs draws the attention of Israelis to social media posts about their military service and the fact that anti-Israel elements may use these posts to initiate futile legal proceedings against them,” the ministry added.
Brussels-based HRF hailed as a “revolutionary” decision by a federal court in Brazil to recognize jurisdiction over the case and order an immediate police crackdown.
“This is a historic moment,” said Dyab Abou Jahjah, HRF president. “It sets a strong precedent for states to take bold steps to hold perpetrators of war crimes accountable.”
The incident is the latest example of the legal ramifications of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which has so far killed more than 45,800 people, according to Palestinian officials, turned much of the territory into uninhabitable rubble and fueled a humanitarian disaster.
The leader of the Israeli opposition Yair Lapid accused the government of Benjamin Netanyahu of “big political failure” over the episode, arguing that the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the war – which Netanyahu has resisted – would help deter such legal actions.
“How did we get to the point where the Palestinians are better than the Israeli government in the international arena?” he wrote on X.
Israel launched an offensive in Gaza in response to a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, during which militants killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials, and took 250 hostage.
The UN Supreme Court is debating a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Israel vehemently rejected the accusations of genocide and called South Africa’s case “deeply distorted”. Israel says its forces in Gaza are acting in accordance with international law, and Netanyahu’s office dismissed the arrest warrants as “anti-Semitic.”
Abou Jahjah said the HRF had submitted evidence against some 1,000 Israeli soldiers to the ICC to help strengthen its case against Israeli leaders.
The group also compiled a list of soldiers suspected of being involved in war crimes and monitored their movements through their social media posts, he said.
“We knew he was in Brazil as soon as he entered and we filed a 400-page dossier against him just three days later,” Abou Jahjah said. “We are not targeting all Israeli soldiers, only those suspected of having committed war crimes.”
He added that they were gathering evidence of alleged violations of international law that “start with entering homes and looting and destroying property and go on to demolish entire neighborhoods, including hospitals, civilian infrastructure and places of worship.”
“There is also killing people, kidnapping people, torturing people and posing with prisoners,” he said.
HRF has also filed war crimes charges against dozens of Israeli soldiers who are dual citizens of countries including Belgium, France and the Netherlands with the aim of prosecuting them there.
Some of these cases are still in the early stages of investigation, Abou Jahjah said, while others have been dismissed by national justices and HRF has appealed them. “We are optimistic about the cases in Belgium,” he said.
