Two IDF Soldiers Suspected of War Crimes Apprehended at Tomorrowland in Belgium

In a significant development in the global pursuit of justice, Belgian federal police apprehended two Israeli soldiers last Sunday, both facing allegations of war crimes in Gaza. This arrest is a result of a complaint lodged by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), an international coalition of lawyers focused on human rights abuses. The soldiers were attending the Tomorrowland electronic music festival in Boom. Following an urgent complaint from HRF and GLAN, the Belgian federal police detained and interrogated the individuals regarding their potential involvement in war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Following the interrogation, both men were set free and allowed to exit the country. Currently, the prosecutor’s office is withholding any additional information.

VIDEO: Belgium arrests two Israeli soldiers attending Tomorrowland festival (Source: Indiatimes)

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The Israeli soldiers were identified in the crowd after proudly waving a Givati Brigade’s flag, a unit notorious for its involvement in the systematic devastation of civilian infrastructure in Gaza and for committing mass atrocities against the Palestinian people. For millions, the Givati flag has come to symbolise impunity, destruction, and ethnic cleansing.  Belgium is taking a stand by showing that non-Belgians involved in serious international crimes cannot march freely, celebrate publicly, and glorify their actions without facing repercussions. One of the soldiers posted a video on Instagram from Dreamville, where the Tomorrowland campsite was located. In a selfie with a line of tents behind him, he captioned it in Hebrew: “I feel like I’m back in the army.” This individual is actively serving in the IDF, the Israeli army, within a unit operating in the Gaza Strip. His Instagram profile picture features him grinning widely in military fatigue. A second Israeli soldier, a lieutenant in the IDF engineering troops, was also geolocated at Tomorrowland, again through his social media. According to the Hind Rajab Foundation, both Israelis are considered war criminals who utilised Palestinians as human shields in the Gaza Strip, subjected them to torture, and committed murder. One of them is accused of participating in attacks on a hospital in the Gaza Strip, an incident reportedly witnessed by a Palestinian doctor who has since fled to the Netherlands. The Hind Rajab Foundation believes that the Givati flag has evolved into a “symbol of impunity, devastation, and ethnic cleansing.”

IMAGE: Published by the Hind Rajab Foundation, showing the flag of the Givati Brigade (white and purple) during the festival in Belgium (Source: HRF)

On July 21, Belgium’s Federal Court released a statement recognising two successive complaints: the first from the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) and the second from the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN).

DOCUMENT: Press release from Belgium’s Federal Court translated in English – Original Doc in French available here 

The Hind Rajab Foundation was founded in September 2024 and named in memory of a five-year-old Palestinian girl who was murdered in Gaza.

IMAGE: Hind Rajab, killed in Gaza by Israel

The chairman of the Hind Rajab Foundation, the Belgian-Lebanese Dyab Abou Jahjah, who filed the complaint, said:

“This development is an important step forward. It demonstrates that Belgium recognises its jurisdiction under international law and treats the allegations with the seriousness they deserve. At a time when too many governments remain silent, this action sends a powerful message.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has acknowledged 28 claims across eight nations, with many linked to HRF. Although Israeli officials tend to minimise the perceived threat, the military has introduced new regulations to safeguard the privacy of its personnel and has cautioned against social media activity that might result in legal repercussions overseas. The choice to interrogate the two Israelis stemmed from a provision in Belgium’s Code of Criminal Procedure, which was enacted last year. This law empowers Belgian courts to exercise jurisdiction over actions that occur abroad, provided they may be subject to an international treaty. In this instance, the relevant treaties are the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1984 United Nations Convention Against Torture, according to the prosecution’s statement.

According to HRF,  Belgium has a legal obligation to either prosecute or extradite individuals suspected of genocide who are present on its territory. These obligations arise from:

• The Genocide Convention (1948),
• The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ratified by Belgium in 2000),
• The Belgian Penal Code which incorporates universal jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

The evidence put forth by the Hind Rajab Foundation is unmistakable, trustworthy, and legally robust. The soldiers arrested  in Belgium were faced with allegations including:

• Destruction of entire neighborhoods in Gaza under the guise of “security”;
• And the deliberate targeting of Gaza’s capacity to survive—its water systems, agriculture, housing, and medical infrastructure.

​”These actions were not incidental. They were executed with intent—to destroy a people, to erase a future” Said HRF’s Chairman Dyab Abou Jahjah. “If Belgium allows these individuals to leave unchallenged, it will be complicit in granting impunity to the perpetrators of genocide” he added

In a post on Instagram, Dyab Abou Jahjah, the Chairman of the Hind Rajab Foundation, highlighted the historic importance of the Belgian federal police’s actions in arresting and questioning two Israeli soldiers who are accused of committing war crimes in Gaza, while they were enjoying themselves at @Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, Belgium.

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Earlier in July, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), along with five other organisations, including the Human Rights League (LDH) and the France Palestine Solidarity Association (AFPS), filed a complaint with civil action for crimes against humanity and genocide. It targets two Israeli soldiers, Sacha A and Gabril B, both with French nationality and snipers in an IDF elite unit known as the “Ghost Unit”. Both are accused of executing civilians in Gaza City and Khan Younis between November 2023 and March 2024. On October 17, 2024, the first complaint against a Belgian-Israeli member of this unit was filed by the Belgian-Palestinian Association (APB). Similar complaints are also expected to be filed in Germany and Italy, wrote French outlet l’Hunanité. 

Antoine Portoles reports for L’Humanité…

Two Israeli soldiers suspected of war crimes in Gaza arrested at Tomorrowland

Two Israeli soldiers were arrested on Sunday, July 20, at the Tomorrowland electronic music festival in Boom, Belgium. They were recognised after displaying a flag of the Givati Brigade, an infantry unit of the Israeli army. They were questioned as part of an investigation into war crimes committed in the Palestinian enclave, before being released. This is a first for a European country.

In a European first, two Israeli army soldiers, who were in Belgium to attend the 2025 edition of the Tomorrowland electronic music festival in Boom, were arrested on Sunday, July 20, and questioned by the Belgian federal police about their possible involvement in war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip, before being released. They were recognised in the crowd after displaying a flag of the Givati Brigade, an infantry unit of the Israeli army.

This investigation follows the filing of two complaints last Friday and Saturday by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN, an international network of lawyers specializing in human rights violations), concerning “serious violations of international humanitarian law allegedly committed in the Gaza Strip by two members of the Israeli army,” the Belgian public prosecutor’s office said on Monday, July 21.

Universal jurisdiction

According to GLAN, which reviewed content posted by the individuals on their respective social media, the incidents include deliberate attacks on civilian areas, homes and hospitals, the use of torture and human shields, and mass arbitrary detentions and forced displacement of civilians.

This is the first time that a European country has recognised universal jurisdiction over war crimes committed by Israeli soldiers. The suspects are not Belgian, and the events took place abroad. The prosecutor’s office relied on the new Article 14/10 of the Preliminary Title of the Belgian Code of Criminal Procedure, which came into force in April 2024, under which Belgian courts are granted jurisdiction over crimes committed outside Belgium on the basis of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1984 Convention against Torture. The investigation is currently ongoing.

25 states call for an “immediate end” to the massacre in Gaza

“We will continue to support the ongoing proceedings and call on the Belgian authorities to pursue the investigation fully and independently. Justice must not stop here – and we are determined to see it through to the end,” HRF and GLAN responded in a joint statement. They added that “at a time when far too many governments remain silent, this action sends a clear message: credible evidence of international crimes must be met with a legal response, not political indifference .” Indeed, the numerous European condemnations over the past few months of the genocide taking place in the Gaza Strip are just a waste of time, as they have been exempt from sanctions against Israel.

This Monday, twenty-five states, including Belgium, France, Canada and Spain, adopted a joint declaration calling for an ”  immediate end  “ to the massacre in the Palestinian enclave. “The suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new heights,” the signatories added. ” The aid distribution model implemented by the Israeli government is dangerous, fuels instability, and deprives Gazans of their human dignity .” It was high time that these facts were clearly recognised by many countries. When will there be action?

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