Israeli soldiers cut holiday in Netherlands short for fear of prosecution
Two Israeli soldiers holidaying in the Netherlands cut their vacation short and returned to Israel out of fear of prosecution. The pro-Palestine group Hind Rajab Foundation accused them of war crimes in Gaza based on photos the soldiers allegedly took of them torturing Palestinians. The foundation wanted to file a lawsuit against them in the Netherlands, so the soldiers fled, NOS reports.
On Sunday, photos appeared on social media showing the two soldiers enjoying their holiday in Amsterdam. These photos were shared alongside photos of blindfolded Palestinians in Gaza that were allegedly taken by the two soldiers.
According to the broadcaster, the Israeli authorities ordered the soldiers to stay in their hotel rooms while an Israeli insurance company worked on repatriating them. The Times of Israel reported that insurance company PassportCard had set aside 1 million dollars to repatriate Israeli soldiers to avoid prosecution for war crimes.
Traveling Israeli soldiers have been confronted with war crime reports in over 12 countries. In Brazil, for example, an Israeli fled the country after a local court ordered the police to investigate the soldier. According to Israeli media, the Amsterdam case was the first time it involved conscripted Israeli soldiers. In the other cases, they were army reservists. These cases are all separate from the arrest warrants against Israeli leaders issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
