According to Belgian media reports, the arrests followed urgent legal complaints filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation and the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) earlier this week. The soldiers were detained at the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, Belgium.
After examining the case, prosecutors decided they had jurisdiction under Article 14/10 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which grants Belgian courts extraterritorial authority over international crimes such as war crimes covered by the Geneva Conventions and torture as defined by the UN Convention Against Torture.
Following these developments, police located and formally interviewed the two soldiers before releasing them. Belgian authorities have confirmed that a criminal investigation is ongoing but declined to provide further details at this stage.
In a statement, the Hind Rajab Foundation welcomed the move as “a turning point in the global pursuit of accountability,” noting it was the first time in Europe that Israeli suspects linked to alleged war crimes in Gaza were arrested and questioned.
“To the victims and survivors in Gaza: we see you, we hear you, and we carry your demands for justice forward. To those who believed impunity was permanent: this moment shows that it is not,” the foundation said, calling for the investigation to be pursued fully and independently.
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