Two Israelis arrested at the Tomorrowland festival on charges of committing war crimes in Gaza

BarcelonaTwo Israeli citizens attending the Tomorrowland electronic music festival have been arrested and interrogated in Belgium, where the festival is being held, and a criminal investigation has been launched. The court is investigating whether the two men have committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip, as alleged by two pro-Palestinian organizations that were tracking them. The arrest, in fact, followed a complaint filed jointly by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF, named after a girl killed in Gaza by Israeli fire at the start of the war) and the Global Legal Action Network, a group of lawyers. Both organizations accuse the two detainees, who were released after interrogation, of "serious violations of international humanitarian law" in Gaza, including their direct involvement in attacks against civilians, acts of torture, and forced displacement.

The decision to initiate a criminal investigation by the Belgian courts is based on the Belgian Code of Criminal Procedure, in force since last year, according to which these courts have jurisdiction over acts committed abroad that are regulated by international treaties, such as the 1949 Geneva Conventions or the Na8 Convention.

The identity of either of the two detainees has not yet been revealed. The two were in Antwerp last week at the Tomorrowland electronic music festival and were identified because they were waving the flag of the Givati Brigade, an Israeli infantry unit involved in the war in Gaza. It is also unclear whether only one of them is a soldier, as the Israeli Foreign Ministry claims, or whether both are, as the Belgian Prosecutor's Office maintains. Belgian authorities stated in a statement that "at this stage of the investigation, no further information will be provided."

Thanks to social networks

The HRF tracks Israeli soldiers abroad through their social media posts and calls for their arrests under the guise of "international jurisdiction," the legal principle that any state can prosecute an individual for serious violations of international law, regardless of where the crime occurred. Since the foundation began operating, Israeli forces have restricted its soldiers' use of social media and banned them from posting content about their actions in Gaza.

The Hind Rajab Foundation has described the Belgian court's action as an "important step forward" and asserts that it is the first time Israeli soldiers have been detained for their complaints. It is not the first time they have raised concerns about their presence abroad. In January, for example, an Israeli sergeant, also accused of war crimes in Gaza, was identified while sightseeing in Barcelona.

The Israeli government, for its part, has discredited the HRG, accusing it of being anti-Israel and claiming that its founder, Belgian-born Lebanese Dyab Abou Jahjah, is a Hezbollah sympathizer.