BRASÍLIA, January 5, 2025 (WAFA) – A Brazilian court has issued an urgent order for police to arrest an Israeli soldier and investigate allegations of war crimes committed in Gaza. The order follows a criminal complaint filed by a Palestinian human rights organization.

According to Brazilian media, the judicial order was prompted by a complaint submitted last week by the Hind Rajab organization. The soldier, currently in Brazil on a tourist vacation, is accused of participating in the systematic destruction of civilian neighborhoods in Gaza. 

The acts are described as part of a broader effort to create unbearable living conditions for Palestinian civilians, constituting genocide and crimes against humanity under international law.

The complaint includes evidence such as videos, geolocation data, and photographs showing the soldier planting explosives and participating in the destruction of entire neighborhoods. The organization claims these materials irrefutably link the soldier to the alleged atrocities.

The destroyed homes, according to the organization, had served as shelters for displaced Palestinians. In addition to submitting the evidence, the organization provided over 500 documents in support of its request for the soldier's arrest, expressing concerns that he might leave Brazil before legal proceedings advance.

The Hind Rajab organization, named in memory of six-year-old Hind Rajab—killed by Israeli forces alongside her family in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza in January last year—aims to pursue legal action against perpetrators of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and human rights violations committed by Israeli forces against Palestinians.

In a related development, a group of 620 Chilean lawyers filed a lawsuit yesterday against Israeli soldier Sar Hirshorin of Battalion 749, accused of crimes against humanity during the Gaza war. Hirshorin is reportedly in Chile at present.

M.N