An anti-Israeli organization that has initiated several war crimes allegations against Israelis abroad demanded on Monday that Italy arrest a visiting Israeli general.
The Hind Rajab Foundation, recently established by the Lebanese-Belgian anti-Israel activist Dyab Abou-Jahjah, wants Italian authorities to arrest Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, head of the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), it said on its website. The La Republica newspaper in Italy reported that Alian is in Italy on vacation.
The group “has filed cases with the International Criminal Court and Italian authorities, urging his immediate arrest for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes,” the text reads.
The foundation has filed lawsuits against at least 28 soldiers in eight different countries and submitted information to the ICC about alleged war crimes supposedly committed by more than a thousand soldiers and officers during operations in Gaza and Lebanon.
Israel, the United States and other countries have roundly rejected allegations that Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza.
Last week, a federal court in Brazil for the first time authorized a criminal investigation into the actions of an Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip, while the soldier was visiting Brazil. The soldier, a reservist, left Brazil without issue following a warning by the Israeli Foreign Ministry about the investigation, which was launched following a complaint by the Hind Rajab Foundation.
According to Il Giornale daily, Italian officials have so far not said whether they intend to take any action vis-a-vis the complaint.
