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Israel has warned its troops not to post about their actions in Gaza on social media after a Brazilian court asked police to investigate a visiting Israeli soldier accused of participating in war crimes.
The action, initiated by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a pro-Palestinian group, was based in part on video footage and photographs that HRF claimed showed the soldier participating in the demolition of homes in Gaza.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said Sunday that embassy officials in Brazil had immediately helped the man leave the country without arrest.
“The Foreign Ministry draws the attention of Israelis to posts on social media regarding their military service and to the fact that anti-Israeli elements may use these posts to initiate frivolous legal proceedings against them,” the ministry added.
Brussels-based HRF hailed as “groundbreaking” the decision by the federal court in Brazil to recognize jurisdiction over the case and order urgent police action.
“This is a historic moment,” said Dyab Abou Jahjah, chairman of the HRF. “This sets a powerful precedent for nations to take bold action to hold perpetrators of war crimes accountable.”
The incident is the latest example of legal fallout from Israel’s offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 45,800 people so far, according to Palestinian officials, turned much of the territory into uninhabitable rubble and fueled a catastrophe humanitarian.
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of a “major political failure” over the episode, arguing that the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the war – which Netanyahu has resisted – would have helped avoid 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 in X.
Israel launched the offensive in Gaza in response to a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, during which the militants killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials, and took 250 hostages.
The UN’s top court is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses 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 has strongly rejected allegations 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 has dismissed the arrest warrants as “anti-Semitic”.
Abou Jahjah said the HRF had submitted evidence to the ICC against about 1,000 Israeli soldiers to help strengthen its case against Israeli leaders.
The group has also compiled a list of soldiers it suspects have been involved in war crimes and has monitored their movements through their social media posts, he said.
“We knew he was in Brazil the moment 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 who are suspected of having committed war crimes.”
He added that they had compiled evidence of alleged violations of international law that “start with breaking into homes, looting and destroying property and go as far as demolishing entire neighborhoods, including hospitals, civilian infrastructure and houses of worship “.
“There’s also killing people, kidnapping people, torturing people and posing with prisoners,” he said.
HRF has also filed war crimes complaints against dozens of Israeli soldiers who hold dual citizenship in countries including Belgium, France and the Netherlands, with the aim of prompting prosecutions there.
Some of these cases are still at an early stage of investigation, Abou Jahjah said, while others have been rejected by the national judiciary and are being appealed by the HRF. “We are optimistic about the cases in Belgium,” he said.
