Hezbollah-linked NGO’s legal complaint forces Israeli soldier flee Brazil
An Israeli military reserve officer was compelled to flee Brazil in recent days following a complaint filed with local authorities by a Hezbollah-linked non-governmental organization.
Israeli soldiers in the northern Gaza area of Beit Lahiya, where Hamas is trying to regroup, on Dec. 31, 2024. Photo by Elad Zagman/TPS-IL
According to Hebrew media reports on Sunday, the officer was informed that the Brazilian Federal Court ordered an investigation based on photos and videos provided by the Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation and issued an order for the police to “take measures against the suspect.”
The Israel Defence Forces have warned soldiers travelling abroad that they risk being arrested, forcing them to cancel travel plans while others have been advised to return home — including one who narrowly avoided arrest in Cyprus in mid-November.
The Hind Rajab Foundation was created in September 2024 and is linked to Hezbollah, TPS-IL has learned.
The foundation’s chairman, Dyab Abou Jahjah, is a known supporter of Hezbollah, according to the NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based organization that monitors the activities and funding of NGOs. Jahjah boasted of his membership in the terror group when he told The New York Times in 2003, “I had some military training, I’m still very proud of this.”
The foundation has filed similar legal complaints against Israeli soldiers travelling in other countries, including the Netherlands and Ecuador. It also petitioned the International Criminal Court to issue Interpol arrest warrants against 1,000 Israeli soldiers in eight different countries, including France, Ireland, and South Africa, according to the foundation’s website.
Hind Rajab was also behind a complaint that nearly led to the arrest of an Israeli officer in Cyprus.
The IDF formed a special unit after October 7 to monitor the information about possible arrests and to warn the soldiers or help them to return to Israel if there is a fear of arrest. They also advise a soldier who wants to go abroad about possible risks and how to avoid them in a specific country. Soldiers are advised not to upload images of them in Gaza, especially where they can be identified.
An Israeli military source told TPS-IL in December that soldiers are advised not to upload images of them in Gaza, especially where they can be identified. “But the discipline regarding this, especially among the reservists, could be better,” he admitted.
Legal expert Maurice Hirsch told TPS-IL in December that countries that do not recognise the ICC’s jurisdiction, such as the US, India and China, are relatively safe for soldiers to travel to. Hirsch — a senior legal analyst at Human Rights Voices, who served previously as Director of the Military Prosecution in Judea and Samaria — added that regarding complaints filed by anti-Israeli NGOs, the situation differs from country to country.
“Many countries have legislation that allows them to prosecute war criminals, even if they are not citizens of the country. It is the so-called ‘universal authority,’” Hirsch explained. “And every country has its own rules regarding this. In the UK, for example, they changed the legislation a few years ago, and now only the government can file a complaint like this, but not an NGO or a private person. In Belgium the situation is different.”
Another legal threat to the military officers comes from the ICC itself. The Hague-based tribunal has already issued unprecedented arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in November. The legal action was spearheaded by the Palestinian Authority, which in 2014 was recognized by the court as a “State,” leading Israeli officials to accuse the ICC of being politicized.
“The problem with ICC is that, because of the court proceedings, we don’t always know in advance that the arrest warrant is issued. And an officer will only know about it after he is arrested abroad,” Hirsch said. “There is a possibility that there are more arrest warrants to senior officers and maybe even to soldiers.”
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 97 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
