Report: How and why ordinary IDF soldiers are being targeted for arrest

According to Itay Blumenthal from Kann News, the story of the IDF soldier fleeing Brazil before he can be charged with war crimes is part of a very-well organized campaign of pro-Palestinian activists and lawyers around the world to target anyone who has served in Gaza to fight Hamas.

The activists trace and hound the soldiers based on their own social media posts, tagging themselves sometimes violating IDF rules and discipline or engaging in activity which the activists allege to be war crimes.

The activists then use their database of this footage to track and try to arrest soldiers touring abroad by filing criminal complaints in the relevant court of law.

This is a significant escalation of anti-Israel lawfare outside the country. Pro-Palestinian activists once tried to target only senior leaders of the IDF and the government, as can be seen with the ICC warrants for the arrest of Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Now, they are targeting thousands of ordinary soldiers, as well.

While the IDF has instructed soldiers to erase all trace of a social media presence and avoid travelling abroad, there are no instructions or framework in place to protect them from these campaigns.