Israel helps former soldier leave Brazil over investigation into alleged war crimes in Gaza
Sam Mednick And Wafaa Shurafa
Sun, January 5, 2025
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has helped a former soldier leave Brazil after legal action was initiated against him by a group accusing Israelis of war crimes in the Gaza Strip based in part on soldiers' social media posts.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday said it had helped the former soldier safely leave Brazil on a commercial flight after what it described as “anti-Israel elements” sought an investigation last week. It warned Israelis against posting on social media about their military service.
The Hind Rajab Foundation, named for a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza, said Brazilian authorities had launched an investigation into the soldier after it filed a complaint based on video footage, geolocation data and photographs showing him taking part in the demolition of civilian homes.
The foundation described the move as a “pivotal step toward accountability for crimes committed in Gaza" during nearly 15 months of war.
There was no immediate comment from Brazilian authorities. Brazilian media reported Saturday that the investigation was ordered by an on-call federal judge in Brazil’s Federal District. The decision was issued on Dec. 30 but first reported over the weekend.
Israel has faced heavy international criticism over its war against Hamas in Gaza, with the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. The International Court of Justice is separately investigating genocide allegations.
The Brazil case raised the prospect that rank-and-file Israeli troops could also face prosecution while abroad.
Israel rejects the international allegations, saying its forces in Gaza are acting in accordance with international law and that any violations are punished within its judicial systems. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths, saying the militant group conceals tunnels and other infrastructure in residential buildings, necessitating their demolition.
Throughout the war, Israeli soldiers have posted numerous videos from Gaza that appear to show them rummaging through homes and blowing up or burning residential buildings. In some, they chant racist slogans or boast about destroying the Palestinian territory.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 45,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials. They say women and children make up over half the dead but do not distinguish between civilians and militants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed five people in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, four in the southern city of Khan Younis and three in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to health workers. Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 88 people had been killed in the past 24 hours.
Israel's military in a statement said it struck a Hamas command center in Khan Younis and an Islamic Jihad militant in Deir al-Balah.
The war has caused widespread destruction in Gaza and displaced around 90% of the population of 2.3 million people, with many forced to flee multiple times.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday said it had helped the former soldier safely leave Brazil on a commercial flight after what it described as “anti-Israel elements” sought an investigation last week. It warned Israelis against posting on social media about their military service.
The Hind Rajab Foundation, named for a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza, said Brazilian authorities had launched an investigation into the soldier after it filed a complaint based on video footage, geolocation data and photographs showing him taking part in the demolition of civilian homes.
The foundation described the move as a “pivotal step toward accountability for crimes committed in Gaza" during nearly 15 months of war.
There was no immediate comment from Brazilian authorities. Brazilian media reported Saturday that the investigation was ordered by an on-call federal judge in Brazil’s Federal District. The decision was issued on Dec. 30 but first reported over the weekend.
Israel has faced heavy international criticism over its war against Hamas in Gaza, with the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. The International Court of Justice is separately investigating genocide allegations.
The Brazil case raised the prospect that rank-and-file Israeli troops could also face prosecution while abroad.
Israel rejects the international allegations, saying its forces in Gaza are acting in accordance with international law and that any violations are punished within its judicial systems. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths, saying the militant group conceals tunnels and other infrastructure in residential buildings, necessitating their demolition.
Throughout the war, Israeli soldiers have posted numerous videos from Gaza that appear to show them rummaging through homes and blowing up or burning residential buildings. In some, they chant racist slogans or boast about destroying the Palestinian territory.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 45,800 Palestinians in Gaza, according to local health officials. They say women and children make up over half the dead but do not distinguish between civilians and militants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed five people in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, four in the southern city of Khan Younis and three in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to health workers. Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 88 people had been killed in the past 24 hours.
Israel's military in a statement said it struck a Hamas command center in Khan Younis and an Islamic Jihad militant in Deir al-Balah.
The war has caused widespread destruction in Gaza and displaced around 90% of the population of 2.3 million people, with many forced to flee multiple times.
Israeli forces kill Palestinian security member
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed a member of the Palestinian security services, calling him a wanted militant.
Israel's paramilitary Border Police said Sunday they carried out an operation in Meithaloun village overnight to arrest Hassan Rabaiya. They said he was killed in a shootout while trying to escape. Israeli authorities released helmet-cam footage that showed police blowing up what they called an explosives lab in his home.
The Palestinian security services identified Rabaiya as a first lieutenant in its Preventive Security force, saying he was killed while “performing his national duty.”
Meithaloun is near the West Bank city of Jenin, an epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian violence. The Palestinian Authority has been waging a rare crackdown on militants in Jenin, angering many Palestinians.
Separately on Sunday, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank said a 17-year-old boy was killed by Israeli gunfire in the urban Askar refugee camp in Nablus. The military said individuals hurled explosives at soldiers operating in the area, who then opened fire and hit one of them.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority exercises limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security matters. But Israel has long accused it of inciting violence and turning a blind eye to militants, while Palestinian critics view it as a corrupt and ineffective body that aids the occupation.
The West Bank has seen a surge of violence during the war in Gaza. Israel captured both Gaza and the West Bank, as well as east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state.
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Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writer Mauricio Savarese in Rio de Janeiro contributed.
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Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Sam Mednick And Wafaa Shurafa, The Associated Press
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Israeli forces killed a member of the Palestinian security services, calling him a wanted militant.
Israel's paramilitary Border Police said Sunday they carried out an operation in Meithaloun village overnight to arrest Hassan Rabaiya. They said he was killed in a shootout while trying to escape. Israeli authorities released helmet-cam footage that showed police blowing up what they called an explosives lab in his home.
The Palestinian security services identified Rabaiya as a first lieutenant in its Preventive Security force, saying he was killed while “performing his national duty.”
Meithaloun is near the West Bank city of Jenin, an epicenter of Israeli-Palestinian violence. The Palestinian Authority has been waging a rare crackdown on militants in Jenin, angering many Palestinians.
Separately on Sunday, the Palestinian Health Ministry in the West Bank said a 17-year-old boy was killed by Israeli gunfire in the urban Askar refugee camp in Nablus. The military said individuals hurled explosives at soldiers operating in the area, who then opened fire and hit one of them.
The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority exercises limited autonomy in parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security matters. But Israel has long accused it of inciting violence and turning a blind eye to militants, while Palestinian critics view it as a corrupt and ineffective body that aids the occupation.
The West Bank has seen a surge of violence during the war in Gaza. Israel captured both Gaza and the West Bank, as well as east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war, and the Palestinians want all three territories for their future state.
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Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writer Mauricio Savarese in Rio de Janeiro contributed.
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Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Sam Mednick And Wafaa Shurafa, The Associated Press
Israeli soldiers face growing risk of arrest abroad after Gaza service
Dana Karni and Tim Lister, CNN
Mon, January 6, 2025
A former Israeli soldier on vacation in Brazil fled the country suddenly after a case was brought against him there alleging he was responsible for war crimes while serving in Gaza.
The case is the latest in a series of lawsuits brought by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) that has tracked the activities of hundreds of Israeli soldiers serving in Gaza.
Last week, a Brazilian judge ordered police to investigate the soldier, based on the complaint brought by the HRF, accusing him of “participating in massive demolitions of civilian homes in Gaza during a systematic campaign of destruction.”
The lawyer who brought the case on behalf of the foundation, Maira Pinheiro, told CNN’s Becky Anderson on Monday that before the federal police could launch the investigation, “the Israeli government intervened to help him evade Brazilian authorities, which is very telling to his exceptionality.”
Pinheiro was quoted in Brazilian media as saying that as Brazil is a signatory to the Rome Statute, it is obliged to ensure that the crimes provided for in the statute (war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide) are investigated and punished.
The HRF is a pro-Palestinian NGO that says it is dedicated “to breaking the cycle of Israeli impunity and honoring the memory of Hind Rajab and all those who have perished in the Gaza genocide.” Rajab was a 5-year-old girl who was killed by Israeli tank fire while in her family’s car in Gaza.
The Israeli foreign ministry said Sunday that “following an attempt last weekend by anti-Israeli elements to investigate a discharged Israeli soldier who visited Brazil, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar immediately activated the Foreign Ministry to ensure that the Israeli citizen was not in danger.”
Israeli soldiers in Golan Heights near the border with Syria on December 9. - Amir Levy/Getty Images
The Israeli embassy in Brazil had ensured “his swift and safe departure from Brazil.”
The foreign ministry added that it drew Israelis’ attention “to posts made by them on social media regarding their military service, and to the fact that anti-Israeli elements may exploit these posts to initiate baseless legal proceedings against them.”
Pinheiro said that HRF presented proof to Brazilian authorities that the Israeli soldier and members of his battalion had “posted about being involved in the controlled demolition of multiple residential homes,” among other evidence in the case.
She told CNN that HRF verified the evidence with a team of open-source intelligence investigators, “which is nowadays one of the main ways that international crimes and international human rights violations are being investigated.”
HRF has also sought the apprehension of Israeli soldiers visiting Thailand, Sri Lanka, Chile and other countries, according to its website. In the Sri Lankan case, the organization posted a photograph of the soldier and said that it had appealed to Sri Lankan authorities, the International Criminal Court and Interpol, demanding his arrest over the killing of a civilian in Gaza.
There is no confirmation that any Israeli soldier has been detained or arrested as a result of the cases it has brought.
The Brazilian case has kicked off a political furor in Israel. The leader of the opposition, Yair Lapid, said: “The fact that an Israeli reserve soldier had to flee Brazil in the middle of the night to avoid being arrested for fighting in Gaza is a monumental political failure of a government that is simply incapable of functioning.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar shot back, saying: “Even the empty Lapid knows that what we are witnessing is a systematic and anti-Semitic campaign aimed at denying Israel’s right to self-defense. Countless international actors and many countries are complicit in this.”
“Moms Up,” a group of Israeli soldiers’ mothers, has written to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF Chief of Staff following the case in Brazil, saying: “We see you as the sole responsible party for removing the legal risk facing our children.”
It added that the Israeli military had been “forced to operate within a political vacuum and under pressure from extremist groups, without the vital legal protection that would safeguard its soldiers from malicious actors worldwide.”
A former senior officer in Israel’s Judge Advocate General’s department told CNN that there was a rising number of attempts overseas to bring charges against Israelis who served in the war, but so far none had resulted in arrest or trial.
He said that unlike in the past, activist groups were not going after high-ranking officers and politicians but ordinary soldiers. The lawyer declined to be identified for this report.
The Foreign Affairs and Security Committee in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, will discuss the action being taken against Israeli soldiers around the world on Monday.
The Associated Press
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