Israeli soldier Yuval Vagdani, accused of war crimes in the Gaza Strip, left Brazil this weekend after the Federal Court of the Federal District ordered the investigation of the alleged war crimes committed by the soldier.
The official Israeli army radio reported that the Tel Aviv government followed the entire route of the soldier’s departure from the country, while the Israeli Embassy in Brazil reported that the suspect left on his own.
Vagdani was the target of an action by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Hind Rajab Foudation (HRF), which works to hold the State of Israel responsible for alleged human rights violations against Palestinians. The organization took Brazilian justice against the soldier, who issued a decision to investigate the soldier. Then he left the country.
Spending holidays on the beaches of Morro de São Paulo, in Bahia, Vagdani was accused by the HRF of participating in massive demolitions of civilian houses in Gaza. The organization used footage, geolocation data and photographs of the suspect planting explosives to destroy entire neighborhoods.
“These materials prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the suspect’s direct involvement in these heinous acts. These acts are part of a broader effort to impose unbearable living conditions on Palestinian civilians, constituting genocide and crimes against humanity under international law,” the organization argued.
The international foundation called for the suspect’s immediate arrest, citing the risk of flight and the potential destruction of evidence. The action was based on the Rome Statute, an international agreement that Brazil signed and which obliges countries to act in cases of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.
After the decision to investigate the Israeli soldier, the HRF’s main lawyer, Maíra Pinheiro, reported having suffered threats against her life. “I am being threatened in the exercise of my profession. They are even threatening my daughter,” he said on a social network, adding that all threats were forwarded to the Federal Police.
Israel reacts
In a statement, the Israeli embassy in Brazil stated that there is a global campaign against Israel and its soldiers, “using complaints to advance political objectives”.
According to the Israeli representation, “the petitioner represents a foreign organization and is cynically exploiting legal systems to foment an anti-Israel narrative both globally and in Brazil, despite fully knowing that the allegations lack any legal basis.”
The official radio of the Israeli army reported, through a social network, that the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs accompanied the soldier “during the entire incident until his quick and safe departure from Brazil”.
In turn, the Brazilian Palestinian organization Fepal (Palestinian Arab Federation of Brazil) accused the Israeli government and the country’s embassy in Brazil of promoting the escape of the accused. “There was a severe offense to the sovereignty of the Brazilian State by a State investigated for genocide, war crimes, the crime of Apartheid and colonialism”, states Ualid Rabah, president of Fepal.
When asked, the Israeli embassy denied participation in the soldier’s departure from the country. “The soldier decided to leave the country, and he did so by decision and on his own,” informed the Israeli representation in Brazil.
Repercussions in Israel
The case gained repercussions in Israel. THE The country’s main newspaper – Haaretz – published an article this Sunday (5) titled “How an arrest warrant for war crimes in Brazil left Israel in a panic”.
The episode served as the country’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid, to accuse the government of not knowing how to protect the Israeli military abroad. “The fact that an Israeli reservist had to flee Brazil in the dead of night to avoid being arrested for fighting in Gaza is a colossal political failure of a irresponsible government that just doesn’t know how to work. It cannot be that soldiers are afraid to travel abroad for fear of being arrested,” he said.
In response, Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Sa’ar, countered Lapid by calling him a “charlatan.” THE chancellor justified that there is an “anti-Semitic” system whose aim is to deny Israel’s right to self-defense.”
Understand
Israel has been accused by South Africa in International Court of Justice (ICJ), main court of the United Nations (UN)for genocide in Palestine. The action is supported by a series of countries, including Brazil.
THE International Criminal Court (ICC), The Haguehas already issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netaniahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
At the same time, organizations like Amnesty International accuse the State of Israel of promoting genocide in Gaza. Israel denies all accusations, claiming it is only defending itself against Hamas, which, on October 7, 2023, attacked Israel, causing the deaths of around 1,200 people and kidnapping around 200 people.
