From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 5, 2025
Lapid slams government amid report soldier forced to flee war crimes probe in Brazil
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid slams the government after an IDF reservist is reported to have narrowly escaped arrest for alleged war crimes while traveling in South America.
“The fact that an Israeli reservist was forced to flee Brazil in the dead of night to avoid being arrested for fighting in Gaza is a huge political failure by an irresponsible government that simply doesn’t know how to work,” Lapid declares in a statement arguing that a state commission of inquiry into October 7 would have provided Israelis with legal protection.
“It cannot be that IDF soldiers — both regular service and reservists — are afraid to go on a trip abroad for fear of being arrested,” Lapid says.
Following a complaint by the Belgium-based anti-Israel Hind Rajab Foundation, a Brazilian federal court ordered police to investigate if an IDF soldier who was traveling in the country was responsible for “war crimes” in Gaza. The Ynet news site later reported that the soldier had managed to leave Brazil.
The Times of Israel Community.