The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) filed a complaint against an IDF soldier vacationing in Thailand, claiming he committed war crimes. the Palestinian foundation was looking for legal representation to represent it in complaints of war crimes in Thailand's courts.
Foreign Minister Gideon Saar summoned a meeting on Sunday dealing with how to protect Jews and Israelis abroad. The discussion was held after the minister's involvement in the attempted arrest of the soldier in Brazil and his consequent escape. It was the first in a series of planned meetings, and it dealt with improving cooperation between all agencies to deal with the issue.
The discussion dealt with a complaint lodged by HRF in the Brazilian federal court against an IDF soldier who was visiting the country. The court ordered the police to begin an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by the soldier during the war in Gaza.
From the perspective of the Israeli authorities, managing such an event includes three stages: monitoring, assessing, and understanding the extent of the danger in traveling abroad. During the discussion, Saar instructed the participants to formulate procedures for similar cases and instructed the IDF to brief the soldiers and forbid them from posting any operational activities. Minister Sa'ar also instructed to establish a hotline for inquiries from soldiers and civilians. Sa'ar also instructed to monitor organizations that operate against IDF soldiers abroad.
Since the October 7 massacre, there have been 12 cases of soldiers who have been legally persecuted around the world. Based on the details, it was learned that in the second half of 2024 there was a 63% increase in online antisemitic incidents, and a 104% increase in physical antisemitic incidents.
The main danger posed to IDF soldiers in countries with a hostile stance towards Israel, including Ireland, Brazil, Spain, Belgium and South Africa. Since the beginning of the war, proceedings have been opened against IDF soldiers in the following countries: Morocco, Norway, Belgium, Cyprus, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, Brazil, Thailand, Ireland, Serbia, France and South Africa, although in all those cases, the proceedings were the result of appeals to the legal authorities and not the initiative of the local governments.
The discussion also revealed that IDF soldiers were smuggled under the radar from at least five countries. However, but no arrest warrant has been issued against IDF soldiers in any country. Anti-Israel organizations such as the Hind Rajab Foundation and the March 30th Movement have requested such warrants, but have failed in every country. Behind this activity are activists linked to Samidoun, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel.
The Hind Rajab Foundation claims to have provided the International Criminal Court in The Hague details of a thousand IDF soldiers. The foundation was established in February last year by several Palestinians living in Brussels in memory of the 6-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who they claim was killed by IDF forces on January 29 last year along with all her family members while they were in their car.
The main problem is the fact that IDF soldiers post incriminating videos on social media, in which they record themselves carrying out activities in Gaza and Lebanon. The soldiers also post their travel plans on their platforms. The foundation collects the videos, verifies them with additional data, and contacts governments when those soldiers travel abroad according to their social media.
The IDF has trouble enforcing the social media ban on operational activities. However, most cases include reservists who ignore orders. Political sources said this phenomenon will only get worse. The Hind Rajab Foundation has so far published the names of the soldiers, giving Israel enough time to rescue the soldier.
In the case of Brazil, they learned their lesson, filed the complaint, and the federal court reached the decision without reporting his name. Ultimately, the foundation's announcement was enough for Israel to locate the soldier and rescue him and his friends from Brazil.
Not all countries are hostile and dangerous for IDF soldiers. Israel is in contact with friendly countries, such as Hungary, the Czech Republic and Italy, which most likely will not allow pro-Palestinian organizations to concoct their arrest.
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In the Netherlands and France, for example, they tried to initiate legal proceedings against IDF soldiers who hold dual citizenship but the requests were rejected. In the Netherlands, wanted notices were even posted against IDF soldiers with local citizenship who returned to the country.
No one is immune, and every young person who travels abroad must be careful everywhere. What can be done? First of all, delete all videos on the Internet that could incriminate you. In addition, before traveling, it is worth checking whether you are at risk of arrest. Keeping a low profile can help and there is no need to report where you are traveling. You can wait with the posting about your trip until after returning to Israel.