Dyab Abou Jahjah Files Complaint Against Belgians Fighting in Israeli Army: Latest News and Updates

2024-02-09 17:29:43

Belgian-Lebanese activist Dyab Abou Jahjah intends to file a complaint against 13 Belgians who went to fight in the Israeli army, he announced on Friday. The majority of these people have dual nationality. The founder of the “March 30 Movement” identified these profiles using publicly available sources.

A lawyer is currently looking into the legal aspect of the action. “As soon as the file is ready, we will file a complaint,” specifies Abou Jahjah. He plans to file the complaint around the end of February. “All the people identified participated in attacks by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip after October 7 (date on which Hamas attacked the Jewish state, Editor’s note).”

Justice will first have to investigate the allegations. In the Netherlands, the movement has already launched several similar procedures.

If mercenarism is formally prohibited by Belgian law, volunteering is not. The assessment of the motivations of these volunteers, such as the defense of a democratic state, falls to the Council of Ministers. The question arose during the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Belgian authorities considered that the departure of volunteers to join the Ukrainian army did not in itself constitute an offense.

The “March 30 Movement” refers to the March 30, 1976 demonstrations of Palestinian demands for land rights, during which six demonstrators were shot dead by the Israeli army. He pleads for recognition of the “genocide of the Palestinian population of Gaza by Israel” at the International Criminal Court in The Hague and supports the Belgians in legal proceedings, for example if they have lost family in Gaza.

The activist also announced that he planned to present a list of his movement during the regional elections in June.