The Israeli Reservists Generation of Victory organization said that it will provide the two IDF Givati Brigade soldiers, who were arrested in Belgium at the request of the pro-Palestinian organization Hind Rajab Foundation, with international legal aid in a Monday statement.
Two IDF soldiers were arrested and interrogated by Belgian authorities following a complaint filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation, an anti-Israel legal organization focused on pursuing legal action against IDF soldiers. They were later released after the investigation.
The soldiers, who attended the Tomorrowland music festival, were alleged to have participated in war crimes, according to HRF. The legal complaint was filed by HRF and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN).
“This is a serious incident that requires an immediate response from the State of Israel, including considering diplomatic measures against the Belgian ambassador,” the organization's statement reads.
A result of toxic discourse, disgraceful statements
The organization called for all those responsible for the situation to be held accountable, adding that it was a direct result of the “toxic media discourse and disgraceful statements by [Democrats party chair] Yair Golan, [former deputy prime minister] Moshe ‘Bogie’ Ya'alon, and former prisoner [prime minister] Ehud Olmert.”
Golan drew widespread outrage when he told Kan’s Reshet Bet’s This Morning program in mid-May that “A sane country does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies for a hobby, and does not set goals involving the expulsion of populations.”
“Israel is on the path to becoming a pariah state among the nations – like the South Africa of old – if it does not return to behaving like a sane country,” Golan said.
Ya’alon stirred controversy in an interview with Lucy Aharish on DemocratTV in late November when he said, “We are being dragged into annexation and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip.”
Olmert called Defense Minister Israel Katz's "humanitarian city" plan in Gaza a "concentration camp" in an interview with The Guardian last Sunday. Olmert said that Israel was already committing war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.
The reservist organization, founded at the start of the Israel-Hamas War, says its mission is to “shape public opinion and demand a national commitment to total victory over our enemies,” according to its website. “This is a war for survival, and we demand a decisive and complete victory. We refuse to endure another heinous massacre or live in a state of constant threat where citizens must hide in shelters and fear for their lives.”