Belgium questions 2 Israelis at music festival over Gaza crime allegations

Belgian police questioned two members of the Israeli army who were attending a music festival in Belgium over allegations of serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Brussels said in a statement Monday

Belgian police questioned two members of the Israeli army who were attending a music festival in Belgium over allegations of serious violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Brussels said in a statement Monday.

In a statement to The Associated Press, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said an Israeli citizen and an Israeli soldier who were on vacation in Belgium “were taken in yesterday for interrogation and were released shortly afterward.” It said Israeli authorities “dealt with this issue and are in touch with the two.”

It was not immediately clear why the Israeli Foreign Ministry referred to one civilian and one soldier, while Belgian prosecutors spoke of two Israeli army members. The whereabouts of the two people who were questioned was not immediately clear.

The case was hailed as a “turning point in the global pursuit of accountability” by a Belgium-based group called the Hind Rajab Foundation, which has campaigned for the arrest of Israeli troops it accuses of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The group was named for a young girl who Palestinians say was killed early in the war by Israeli fire as she and her family fled Gaza City.

An image of Hind Rajab is held up by demonstrators on May 17 in London.Mark Kerrison / In Pictures via Getty ImagesIt isn’t the first time an Israeli has been targeted overseas for legal action. In January, Israel helped a former soldier leave Brazil after legal action was initiated against him by the group, which uses geolocation and social media posts to identify soldiers they accuse of war crimes.