A company commander in the Givati Brigade, which is operating in the Gaza Strip, spoke today (Wednesday) about the danger of soldiers being arrested while travelling abroad on charges of war crimes, especially in countries hostile to Israel.
The commander said that "of course I tell the soldiers not to put it on" social media, "this is healthy judgment. In the end, there is the simple understanding that there are people who want to track them down, and with enough investment - they will also find them."
Shlomi, the father of the soldier who had to flee Brazil for fear of being arrested on charges of war crimes told Army Radio that "My son said that they felt like in the series Prison Break - everywhere they looked behind them to see who's following them.
According to a report by Kann, anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian activists have moved from trying to file criminal complaints against senior Israeli government and military leaders to targeting ordinary soldiers travelling in foreign countries.
These activists locate and target these soldiers by creating a database of soldiers' social media posts, sometimes involving infractions of IDF rules and discipline which the activists interpret as "war crimes."
With their name and identity then in the database, the activists then use geolocation to see if a given soldier or citizen doing reserve duty is in one of the many countries where they stand ready to file suit to have them arrested and imprisoned on charges of war crimes.
The IDF already warns its soldiers not to travel abroad, but there is no mechanism in place to protect citizens who did reserve duty and who may be targeted by these activists.
Meanwhile, the arrest warrants issued for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant remain outstanding and are a sore spot in relations between Israel and countries bound by the rulings of the ICC, especially in Europe.
0 Comments