An activist group has introduced legislation in Argentina and Chile, urging countries to arrest an Israeli soldier for war crimes in Argentina. Gaza.
The cases filed in Argentina and Chile announced on Thursday refer to national and international law. They come amid many efforts by the Belgium-based Hind Rajab Foundation to pressure countries around the world to find full justice for the atrocities committed in Palestine.
The charges are targeting Israeli soldier Saar Hirshoren for what the Hind Rajab Foundation described as his role in the 749 Combat Engineering Battalion, whose chairman Dyab Abou Jahjah described as “systematically involved in the destruction of infrastructure” in Gaza.
The foundation immediately filed a complaint against the entire group at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for “war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide”.
Local prosecutors working with the group filed charges in Argentina on December 24 and Chile the next day, calling for Hirshoren's arrest. Maziko said Hirshoren was in Argentina when the first case was filed, before he left for Chile.
The prosecution cited “video evidence from Hirshoren's Instagram account, which shows him participating in the destruction of civilians in Gaza” and “his role in the deliberate demolition of neighborhoods, cultural sites, and important sites” in violation of international law. .
It is not known whether Hirshoren has dual citizenships in other countries beyond Israel and his whereabouts are unknown, Abou Jahjah told Al Jazeera.
“I ask Argentina and Chile to take their responsibility as democracies, countries that have the law to arrest Mr. Hirshoren,” he said.
Encourage greater responsiveness
The latest legislation comes after Amnesty International earlier this month he finished that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza. UN human rights experts have also reached a similar conclusion on the war, which began following a Hamas attack in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Since then, 45,399 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and 107,940 have been injured in Israeli operations, which have also destroyed many of Gaza's weapons and caused a huge humanitarian crisis.
Hamas attacks in Israel killed 1,139 people.
In November, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing “the war crime of starvation as a means of warfare; and crimes against humanity of murder, torture, and other atrocities”.
Israel has denied the documents and has repeatedly maintained that its actions in Gaza are in line with international law.
ICC last month too printed arrest warrant for Hamas commander Mohammed Deif for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the October 7 attack on Israel. Israel says Deif was killed during the July strike.
But the Hind Rajab Foundation, named by a 6-year-old child to be killed in Israeli shelling when his family fled Gaza City earlier this year, and some advocacy groups have said that accountability must extend beyond Israel's leadership.
The foundation has enacted laws against Israeli soldiers who are either citizens of – or temporary visitors to – Ecuador, the Netherlands, France, and Cyprus, among others.
The group has been targeting Israeli soldiers who post abuse on social media. For example, Hirshoren posted a video of himself destroying seven buildings near the Mosab bin Omair mosque in northern Nuseirat in October, according to an analysis of Drop Site News records.
Advocates argue that countries that are parties to international treaties – including the ICC founding document, the Rome Statute, and the Geneva Conventions – are responsible for implementing international law.
In October, the group filed a complaint with the ICC naming 1,000 Israeli soldiers it accuses of torture, including 12 from France, 12 from the United States, four from Canada, three from the United Kingdom, and two from the Netherlands.
Abou Jahjah said that with the ICC taking the long-delayed action, his team hopes to correct the “deficiency” at the national level.
It can be a long time. None of the countries in which the group has taken action have asked for help from known soldiers. Neither Chile nor Argentina responded to an immediate request.
However, Abou Jahjah said he hoped the message would be heard.
“You cannot allow terrorists to come and rest in your country as if nothing is happening,” said Abou Jahjah.
“You can not only change your positions in the conventions you have signed,” he added, “but also the principles of justice that both countries have established in their constitutions.”