A Belgium based pro-Palestine advocacy group has revealed that local police have “arrested and interrogated” two Israelis following complaints of Gaza war crimes; calling the move a turning point in the “global pursuit of accountability.”
Belgian authorities have admitted they briefly held and questioned two Israeli citizens who attended an electronic music festival last week, after pro-Palestine groups accused them of committing war crimes in Gaza.
Prosecutors said they had received legal complaints alleging that two Israeli soldiers responsible for “serious violations of international humanitarian law” in Gaza were spotted at the Tomorrowland festival near the northern city of Antwerp.
The federal prosecutor’s office said it had asked the police to locate the two people named in the complaint and to interview them. “Following these interviews, they were released,” it said in a statement.
The office said it had taken action after concluding that Belgian courts had extraterritorial jurisdiction over alleged war crimes. “No further information will be given at this stage of the investigation,” the office said.
In a statement to the Associated Press, the Israeli Foreign Ministry also confirmed the arrests.
The 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.” The statement claimed Israeli authorities “dealt with this issue” and are in touch with the two alleged war criminals.
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According to reports, the two Israeli soldiers were briefly detained after being spotted waving Givati Brigade flags at the festival.
The brigade has played a key part in the ground assault in Gaza with its members occupying parts of Gaza since 2023.
The case has been hailed as a “turning point in the global pursuit of accountability” by the Hind Rajab Foundation, a legal action group who focus on targeting perpetrators, accomplices and inciters of war crimes and crimes against humanity in occupied Palestine.
A Hind Rajab Foundation statement said: “This development is a significant step forward. It signals that Belgium has recognised its jurisdiction under international law and is treating the allegations with the seriousness they deserve.
“At a time when far too many governments remain silent, this action sends a clear message: credible evidence of international crimes must be met with legal response — not political indifference.
“We do not claim that justice has been served — not yet. But we believe something important has begun. For the first time in Europe, Israeli suspects linked to crimes in Gaza have been subjected to formal arrest and questioning. This would not have been possible without the strength of the law and the will to apply it.”
The group was named after a 6-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in Gaza by Israeli fire as she and her family fled Gaza City in 2024.
Since forming last year, the Hind Rajab Foundation has made dozens of complaints in more than 10 countries seeking the arrest of both low-level and high-ranking Israeli soldiers.
“We will continue to support the ongoing proceedings and call on Belgian authorities to pursue the investigation fully and independently,” the group said in its statement. “Justice must not stop here — and we are committed to seeing it through.”
The death toll in Gaza has climbed to more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Most of those killed by Israel since October 7, 2023, has been women and children.
War crimes and genocide allegations have been raised against Israel and the IDF, allegations which Tel Aviv denies.
Amid widespread hunger and food shortages in Gaza brought about by Israel’s siege on the strip, Israeli strikes killed at least 136 Palestinians, including 38 individuals waiting for aid and three children who died from severe malnutrition on July 19 alone, Palestinian official sources reported.
Palestinians have been reportedly killed daily while attempting to get to vitally needed supplies in shocking scenes which have raised fresh complaints of war crimes. Israel continues to deny the claims despite significant evidence.
