THE HAGUE, Netherlands — An Israeli reservist’s anticipated getaway to Brazil took an unexpected turn last month when he became the focus of a war crimes investigation tied to his actions in Gaza.
Yuval Vagdani awoke on January 4 to numerous missed calls from family and the Israeli Foreign Ministry, urgently alerting him that a pro-Palestinian legal organization had persuaded a Brazilian federal judge to investigate him for alleged involvement in the destruction of homes inhabited by civilians in Gaza.
In a state of fear, Vagdani departed the country the following day on a commercial flight, eager to escape the implications of “universal jurisdiction,” a legal principle enabling nations to prosecute individuals for serious crimes no matter where they occurred.
Vagdani, who survived the October 7, 2023, terrorist assault on an Israeli music festival carried out by Hamas, described the allegations as “a bullet in the heart” during an interview with an Israeli radio station.
The Hind Rajab Foundation, a legal organization situated in Belgium and named after a Palestinian girl purportedly killed early in the conflict, initiated the case against Vagdani. The group utilized geolocation data alongside Vagdani’s own social media postings to substantiate their claims. These included a photo of him in uniform in Gaza and a video showcasing a massive explosion among buildings, with soldiers audible in the background cheering.
Last year, judges at the International Criminal Court determined there was sufficient evidence to pursue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of crimes against humanity. This was attributed to allegations of utilizing starvation as a tactic in warfare and deliberately targeting civilians. Both Netanyahu and the Israeli government have resolutely dismissed these claims.
Since its establishment in 2022, the Hind Rajab Foundation has filed numerous complaints across more than ten countries aiming to arrest both low-ranking and senior Israeli military personnel. Although their efforts have not yet resulted in arrests, they have led Israel to impose stricter regulations on social media declarations by military members.
“We believe it is our duty to pursue these cases,” stated Haroon Raza, one of the foundation’s co-founders, from his office in Rotterdam. He also noted that it is subsequently up to national authorities or the International Criminal Court to take action.
Eden Bar Tal, the director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, remarked last month that only a handful of soldiers had been targeted without any warrants being issued, labeling these attempts at arrests as ineffective publicity stunts. He mentioned that the campaigns are funded by a minimal number of groups associated with terrorist organizations.
The principle of universal jurisdiction is not a novel concept. Established by the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which set the framework for military conduct post World War II, signatory nations have the obligation to either prosecute war criminals or hand them over to a country willing to do so. The United Nations Security Council advocated for the inclusion of universal jurisdiction in national legal codes in 1999, which has been adopted in varying capacities by approximately 160 countries.
“International law identifies certain offenses, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, as offenses that any state can prosecute,” explained Marieke de Hoon, an international law expert from the University of Amsterdam.
Israel previously utilized this legal principle to convict Adolf Eichmann, a major architect of the Holocaust. Eichmann was apprehended by Mossad agents in Argentina in 1960 and subsequently brought to Israel, where he faced a death sentence.
More recently, a former Syrian intelligence officer was found guilty in a German court in 2022 for overseeing the abuse and mistreatment of detainees in a prison. Additionally, a court in Sweden convicted an Iranian citizen for war crimes during the Iran-Iraq conflict in the 1980s.
In 2023, a total of 16 individuals were convicted of war crimes through universal jurisdiction, as reported by TRIAL International, an organization based in Switzerland that monitors such legal proceedings involving crimes in Syria, Rwanda, Iran, and more.
In light of Brazil’s inquiry into Vagdani, the Israeli military has implemented new rules forbidding the identification of soldiers below a certain rank in the media and requiring their identities to be concealed. They have cautioned service members against making social media posts related to their military duties and travel.
The evidence provided to the Brazilian judge largely stemmed from Vagdani’s own social media activity. “That’s what they saw, which is why they targeted me for their investigation,” he remarked on Israeli radio. “They created 500 pages from one house explosion, and they assumed I killed thousands of children.”
Vagdani was not visible in the explosion video and did not confirm whether he was involved in the incident, indicating he entered Gaza for “maneuvers” and was engaged in intense combat.
The digital age has simplified the process for legal entities to collect evidence, particularly through social media. Numerous Islamic State fighters have faced convictions in various European courts for actions taken in Syria, with prosecutors frequently relying on videos shared online, as highlighted by de Hoon.
However, the effectiveness of universal jurisdiction has its boundaries. In the Netherlands, where the Hind Rajab Foundation has lodged over a dozen complaints, either the victim or the accused must be a Dutch national, or the suspect must be present within the country throughout the investigation. These stipulations potentially shield Israeli tourists from legal repercussions. Prosecution in eleven instances involving fifteen Israeli soldiers has failed due to insufficient residency duration in the Netherlands, according to Dutch prosecutors. Currently, two complaints remain open that involve four soldiers.
Activists in the U.K. also endeavored to create arrests for Israeli military and political figures tied to the 2008-09 Gaza war, yet these efforts did not succeed in 2016.
Despite the challenges, Raza insists that his organization will persist, emphasizing that the process might take years. “It might take 10 years. It might be 20 years. No problem. We are prepared to exercise patience,” he stated.
Notably, there is no expiration period for prosecuting war crimes.
