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Anti-Israeli NGO Seeks Arrest of IDF Soldiers at Tomorrowland
Israeli Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi speaks at a ceremony for the 70th cohort of military combat officers, at an army base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, Oct. 31, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
i24 News – The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a Palestinian organization headquartered in Belgium, has filed a legal complaint seeking the arrest of two Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers who were seen waving a Givati Brigade flag at the Tomorrowland music festival last weekend. The move has drawn sharp attention in Europe amid rising legal and diplomatic tensions over the Gaza conflict.
According to a statement posted Saturday evening on the HRF’s official website, the organization, in collaboration with the British legal advocacy group Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), has petitioned the Belgian Attorney General to arrest and prosecute the soldiers under Belgium’s universal jurisdiction laws.
The foundation accuses the two men of committing “serious international crimes, including war crimes and genocide in the Gaza Strip.”
The two soldiers reportedly attended Tomorrowland, one of the world’s largest electronic music festivals, held annually in Boom, Belgium. Video footage circulating on social media showed them holding up the Givati Brigade flag, a symbol linked to one of the IDF’s frontline infantry units.
HRF claims these men were directly involved in combat operations in Gaza and argues their presence in Belgium constitutes an opportunity for prosecution under international law. The Givati Brigade has been cited in several international reports on alleged IDF misconduct during recent military campaigns.
In a separate announcement, the foundation revealed it had also filed a criminal complaint in Portugal last week against another Israeli national, identified in Lisbon, whom it accuses of involvement in what it terms the Israeli “genocide campaign” in Gaza. Portuguese authorities have yet to confirm any action in response.
These legal moves are part of HRF’s broader campaign to hold Israeli soldiers accountable for their roles in military actions in the Gaza Strip. The group has made it clear that it aims to pursue legal avenues in any country where universal jurisdiction allows prosecution of foreign nationals for alleged war crimes.
In response to escalating international pressure and the growing legal risks faced by IDF personnel abroad, Israel’s Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, recently issued a directive mandating the concealment of the identities of all officers involved in operational activities related to combat, from the rank of lieutenant colonel and above. This measure affects thousands of active-duty and reserve soldiers, many of whom had previously operated publicly under their real names.
The Hind Rajab Foundation was formally registered in Belgium in September 2024 and is led by Dyab Abou Jahjah and Karim Hassoun, both known for their longstanding anti-Israel activism. Jahjah, in particular, has a controversial history, having publicly expressed support for Hezbollah and claimed past participation in its military training. Both leaders have also voiced public support for the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 people.
Israeli officials have condemned HRF’s actions, calling them politically motivated and legally baseless. “These so-called legal pursuits are nothing more than attempts to delegitimize Israel’s right to defend itself,” said a spokesperson for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Belgian authorities have yet to comment publicly on the HRF’s legal filings. However, if accepted, the cases could set a precedent for European enforcement of universal jurisdiction laws against foreign military personnel.
The post Anti-Israeli NGO Seeks Arrest of IDF Soldiers at Tomorrowland first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.