According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Brussels, Belgian authorities have interrogated two Israeli military personnel following allegations of grave violations of international humanitarian law committed in Gaza.
Following the filing of legal complaints by the Global Legal Action Network and the Hind Rajab Foundation, the two individuals were questioned. As the soldiers gathered for Belgium’s Tomorrowland music festival on Friday and Saturday, they filed the complaints.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office requested the police to track down and question the two people named in the complaint in a written statement released on Monday. They were released after these interrogations, the statement read.
The Belgian Code of Criminal Procedure recently passed a new provision that allowed for the questioning. If alleged violations are brought against them abroad under international treaties that Belgium has ratified, such as the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1984 UN Convention against Torture, it is possible for Belgian courts to do so.
At this stage of the investigation, the prosecutor’s office announced it would not release additional information.
The Belgian-based Hind Rajab Foundation has been fighting for Israeli soldiers to face legal challenges for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza. A six-year-old Palestinian girl who fled Gaza City with her family when Israel’s war began, was the victim of the Israeli fire.
The foundation has lodged dozens of complaints against Israeli military personnel, both low- and high-ranking, since it was founded last year in more than 10 countries.
The group praised the developments on Monday as “a turning point in the global pursuit of accountability.”
The foundation stated in a statement that “we will continue to support the ongoing proceedings and call on Belgian authorities to fully and independently pursue the investigation.” Justice must not stop at this, and we are working toward its completion.
This action sends a clear message to governments that credible evidence of international crimes must be provided by law, not by political indifference, the statement continued.
One Israeli citizen and one soldier were interrogated and later released, according to the Foreign Ministry of Israel. In a statement cited by The Associated Press news agency, the ministry said that “Israeli authorities dealt with this issue and are in contact with the two.”
The incident comes as Israel’s actions in its conflict with Gaza sputter become more and more international. More than 20 Western nations on Monday called for the end of the conflict in Gaza, citing the “new depths” of suffering there.
Israel’s allies, Britain, France, Australia, Canada, and 21 other nations, plus the European Union, said in a joint statement that the conflict “must end now” after more than 21 months of fighting that have caused catastrophic humanitarian conditions for Gaza’s more than 2 million people.
The signatories urged the release of captives held by Palestinian armed groups, the release of prisoners, and the flow of much-needed aid, adding that “the suffering of civilians in Gaza has reached new depths.”
Israel was charged by the World Food Programme on Sunday with shooting at a crowd of Palestinians seeking food aid with tanks, snipers, and other weapons.
It claimed that its 25-truck convoy encountered large crowds of civilians waiting for food supplies as they approached Gaza’s northern Zikim crossing.
As the convoy approached, Israeli tanks, snipers, and other gunfire started to fire in the surrounding crowd, according to the statement on X, noting that “many lives were lost” and many more were injured in critical conditions.
“These people were merely attempting to get food for themselves and their families who were on the verge of starvation.” This terrible incident highlights the increasingly dangerous circumstances in which humanitarian operations are required to take place in Gaza.
The Israeli attack, which claimed the lives of at least 92 people, was one of the war’s deadliest days for civilians seeking humanitarian aid, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Source: Aljazeera
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