Anti-Israel activists called on Greek authorities to investigate an Israeli tourist who was arrested following a clash with Palestinian protesters and hospitalized for war crimes.
The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), which files legal complaints against current or former Israeli soldiers and reservists abroad, called for an investigation into a former IDF soldier with a disability following a Saturday Syntagma Square incident, for which the Israeli, his sister, and three Palestinian men were arrested.
After police intervened, seizing six plastic poles from the Palestinians, all five were charged, and the Israeli man and one of the Palestinians were treated for their injuries at the hospital.
The anti-Israel group asserted that the 29-year-old was part of the Golani Brigade, which had participated in the hostilities in Gaza. The foundation said that because units in the infantry brigade ostensibly committed war crimes in the Israel-Hamas War, and given that it was likely that the man served with them, he probably violated international humanitarian law.
It is worth noting that at age 29, it is unlikely that this former soldier would be serving in the regular service brigade like Golani, as most infantry reservists serve in dedicated reserve units.
“We are calling on the Greek authorities to uphold their legal obligations under international law by opening an investigation into David Hadar’s potential involvement in war crimes,” HRF chairperson Dyab Abou Jahjah said in a Sunday statement.
Not an isolated episode of violence
“The incident in Athens is not an isolated episode of violence. It reflects a broader pattern whereby individuals who have taken part in atrocities in Palestine are displaying the same aggressive behavior abroad,” Jahjah said.
Pro-Palestinian activist group Gaza Is Here said on Instagram on Monday that it had been protesting at the square for three months, and that the media had engaged in propaganda by presenting the Palestinian men as the aggressors. The group demanded that more security footage of the event be released.
It was planning on protesting outside the courthouse on Monday, where the Palestinians were set to be arraigned, but the hearing was pushed to September 23, it further said.
The Foreign Ministry is in contact with the Israelis, but it is unclear if any aid is being rendered. The Israeli embassy in Greece has made no official statement.
As for the Greek police, they said on Sunday that the three Palestinians, aged 25, 26, and 27, were charged with dangerous bodily harm motivated by racism. The Israeli man was charged with simple bodily harm and making racist threats, and the Israeli woman was charged with racist insults.