A pro-Palestinian organization said it had asked Italian authorities to arrest a senior Israeli general allegedly visiting Rome, the latest in a string of attempts to target Israelis with criminal prosecution over the war in Gaza.
The Hind Rajab Foundation, which has sparked alarm in Israel by seeking the arrest of Israelis traveling abroad over alleged war crimes, claimed to have filed a case with unspecified “Italian authorities” against Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, who heads the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories, a Defense Ministry body known by its acronym COGAT.
The foundation said it also filed a case with the International Criminal Court in the Hague against Alian, asking it to issue an international arrest warrant for “genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.”
There was no immediate comment from Italian judicial authorities or from The Hague on the request.
In a statement announcing the request, the foundation claimed that Alian played a key role in overseeing policies the ICC has previously deemed warrant the arrests of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
“Following October 7, 2023, he supervised and enforced a total siege on Gaza, cutting off essential resources such as food, water, electricity and medical supplies,” it said.
“Under Alian’s leadership, COGAT coordinated military actions that targeted civilian infrastructure and imposed collective punishment on Gaza’s population.”
???????? Breaking: HRF Calls for Immediate Arrest of IDF Major General Ghassan Alian who is currently in Rome.
The #HindRajabFoundation (HRF) has filed cases with the ICC and informed Italian authorities demanding the immediate arrest of Major General Ghassan Alian, Head of COGAT,… pic.twitter.com/NMMi7yNsBZ
— The Hind Rajab Foundation (@HindRFoundation) January 13, 2025
COGAT is responsible for Israel’s day-to-day management of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including the entry of humanitarian aid and other goods into the Strip.
The complaint also noted a statement made by Alian on October 10, 2023, in which he fumed at Gazans celebrating the slaughter of Israelis days earlier and called the action of Hamas terrorists “not human.”
“Human animals must be treated as such. There will be no electricity and no water [in Gaza], there will only be destruction,” he said then. “You wanted hell, you will get hell.”
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid cross into the Gaza Strip from Erez crossing in southern Israel, Monday, October 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
War crimes and genocide complaints against Israel have focused on statements made by Israeli leaders vowing harsh responses to the October 7, 2023, massacre.
Foundation head Dyab Abou Jahjah claimed to US news outlet Democracy Now Monday that Alian was in Italy for a “secret” meeting, but did not explain how the group, which says it relies on open-source information posted by the soldiers themselves, had learned of the senior officer’s allegedly covert movements.
Alian appeared to be the highest-ranking officer sought by the foundation so far.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry referred questions to COGAT, which declined to comment.
Then-Col. Ghassan Alian during a patrol in July 2013 in Jenin. Col. Alian, who heads the Golani Brigade, returned to the unit after being injured in battle two days earlier (Yossi Zeliger/FLASH90)
The Belgium-based group says it tracks Israeli soldiers’ actions and movements using posts on social media and other open-source information, and attempts to alert local authorities to take action should they travel outside of Israel.
The Israeli military has done little to stop soldiers from sharing unauthorized content from operations online, with the phenomenon remaining widespread in the 15th month of the war.
The organization, which proclaims that it is “devoted to ending Israeli impunity and achieving justice for Hind Rajab and all the victims of the Gaza Genocide,” is named after a 6-year-old Gazan killed in January. Her death was blamed on the IDF, but an initial probe conducted by the army said that there were no troops in the area when she was killed.
6-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab (Family handout via AFP)
The group says it has filed complaints in several countries, including Brazil, Sweden, Argentina, Chile, Thailand and elsewhere. According to Kan news, none of the accusations have resulted in any arrests so far, though Israel’s Foreign Ministry was forced to intervene when a Brazilian judge okayed a probe into an Israeli servicemember vacationing in the country earlier this month.
The cases have also sparked concern in the IDF, which has implemented new regulations to conceal the identities of combat soldiers in news reports.
The foundation has said it filed evidence of alleged war crimes with the International Criminal Court against 1,000 Israelis, including video and audio reports, forensic reports and other documentation. The ICC confirmed receiving a filing and said it would “analyze the materials submitted, as appropriate.”
A pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel demonstrator holds a sign outside the International Court of Justice, rear, in The Hague, Netherlands, February 21, 2024. (AP Photo/ Peter Dejong)
The war broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 46,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 18,000 combatants in battle as of November and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
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.
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