German human rights group seeks to prosecute IDF soldier over Gaza war role
European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights says it filed criminal complaint with German prosecutors over Israeli sniper who was born and raised in Munich
Human rights lawyers have filed a lawsuit against an Israeli soldier of German origin over suspected involvement in the targeted killing of unarmed Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights and three Palestinian human rights organizations said they filed a criminal complaint with Germany’s federal prosecutor against a sniper in the Israeli Defense Forces.
ECCHR said the 25-year-old soldier was born and raised in Munich and had a registered residence in Germany until recently, but could not confirm that the man has dual citizenship.
In a 130-page complaint, ECCHR said the groups submitted evidence, including investigative research and audiovisual recordings, alleging that the soldier belonged to the so-called “Ghost Unit” of the 202nd Paratroopers Battalion, also known as the Multidomain Unit.
The ECCHR statement said its evidence indicated that members of the unit deliberately killed civilians in Gaza.
The IDF and the Israeli Foreign Ministry as well as Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
The human rights groups claimed that targeted sniper shootings were documented near Gaza’s Al Quds and Nasser hospitals between November 2023 and March 2024, adding that legal proceedings against members of the same unit were also underway in France, Italy, South Africa and Belgium.
The IDF has consistently denied any targeted killing of civilians, saying it only strikes terror infrastructure in the Strip. Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools and mosques.
The case was filed under German laws that allow prosecutors to pursue international crimes if the accused persons were born in Germany or German nationals, ECCHR said.
“There must be no double standards – even if the suspects are members of the Israeli armed forces,” ECCHR’s lawyer Alexander Schwarz said in a statement.
The Times of Israel Community.