Brazilian media reported that an unnamed Israeli tourist was forced to flee the country after a federal court authorized a criminal investigation into his actions as a soldier in Gaza.
The news site Metrópoles reported on Monday that the investigation was ordered after a request was filed by the Belgium-based HRF (Hind Rajab Foundation). HRF accused the Israeli of “participating in massive demolitions of civilian homes in Gaza during a systematic campaign of destruction.” The court ordered that an investigation be opened into the soldier on account of the “war crimes” he allegedly committed.
In November, HRF announced it had “officially submitted our ICC complaint, along with the evidence, to 8 countries through their embassies in The Hague. We call on these countries to issue Interpol arrest warrants against 1000 Israeli soldiers. Among these countries are Spain, Ireland, and South Africa.”
HRF’s lead lawyer, Maira Pinheiro, also addressed the legal aspect of the case in the HRF statement.
“This is not a case of distant command. This individual actively contributed to the destruction of homes and livelihoods, and his own statements and behavior clearly align with the genocidal objectives in Gaza,” Pinheiro said.
The former Israeli soldier, identified by Israel’s Channel 12 News only as Y, 21 years old, traveled to Brazil as a tourist for the Chanukah holiday period along with three friends.
The man, who recently completed his mandatory service in the IDF Givati infantry brigade, survived the Nova music festival, where Hamas terrorists murdered more than 300 people on October 7, 2023, including his girlfriend, according to Channel 12.
Long-time anti-Israel activists Dyab Abou Jahjah and Karim Hassoun serve as the NGO’s chair and secretary, respectively.Jahjah, a vocal Holocaust denier, is a long-time known supporter of the Hezbollah terror organization and in a 2003 New York Times article, announced he was a member of Hezbollah.
On October 7, 2023, Jahjah posted: “These Palestinian resistance fighters entering these settlements are all refugees whose parents were ethnically cleansed from these villages in 1948/1967. Anyone neglecting this fact is not seriously engaging in a conversation but is spreading Israeli propaganda, whether willfully or not.”
On October 8, 2023, Hassoun posted: “The Palestinians have not ‘invaded’ #Israel… They are simply returning home and reclaiming their properties… A ‘small’ but very important nuance, I would say… #ComingHome #Palestine #Gaza #HolocaustIndustry #CollaborationComplex #Nakba1948 #Resistance.”
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has publicly compared Israel’s actions to those of Nazi Germany and accuses it of committing genocide in Gaza.
