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A pro-Palestinian journalist in London accosted the head of the IDF Operations Department, Major General Oded Basiuk, at the entrance to a research institute building in the city. "Are you a war criminal?" Basiuk was asked on Wednesday. He seemed surprised by the encounter, but did not answer and entered the building.
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Major General Oded Basiuk confronted by pro-Palestinian journalist
(Video: Declassified UK)
Basiuk reportedly was accompanied by Brigadier General Elad Goren, the head of the humanitarian-civilian effort in Gaza, and other officers. The journalist who accosted Basiuk reported that the Israeli delegation arrived in Britain to review the cease-fire efforts with the local army, and to discuss what would happen if it collapsed.
"General Basiuk, what did you discuss at the Ministry of Defense? Are you worried that you will be investigated by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for war crimes?" journalist Alex Morris also asked.
After the Israeli delegation entered, Morris tried to follow it into the building and was pushed back by the guard. In a video he posted, he reported that "I photographed Israeli General Oded Basiuk, who was the head of the operations in Gaza as part of Israel's brutal genocide in the last 15 months in Gaza. He entered the RUSI building in Whitehall, London."
The foundation that 'hunted' soldiers
Meanwhile, in recent days, the anti-Israel Hind Rajab Foundation, which is behind a global campaign against IDF soldiers, which is behind an attempted legal battle against IDF soldiers, has filed another complaint in Central Europe against another reservist who served in combat engineering in the Gaza Strip. D., 35, a Tel Aviv resident against whom the complaint was filed, told Ynet "I think they are focusing on images of combat engineering soldiers because it is easiest to get caught up in this. In engineering work, you see the destruction of houses which are terrorist infrastructures. Every house we have destroyed is a terror house, which we have intelligence for."
The Hind Rajab Foundation, an offshoot of the pro-Palestinian March 30 movement, was established by two Lebanese nationals, Dyab Abou Jahjah and Karim Hassoun, now residing in Belgium. Named after a six-year-old Palestinian girl allegedly killed in Gaza by the IDF on January 29, 2024, the organization claims to focus on bringing justice to Palestinians.
D. said that no one in the IDF or the Defense Ministry has contacted him. "Yesterday, reporters and friends sent me messages and I understood the problem I was in. Six months ago, I saw photos of me that were distributed on antisemitic websites. This is the state forsaking IDF soldiers, ignoring obvious things. It does not make sense that reporters and friends get information before our security agencies," he said.
According to him, "Another point is the diplomatic problem. If I am arrested abroad, it is true that it will be unpleasant for me, but the entire State of Israel is in trouble. With proper work, this too could have been easily avoided. Again, the State of Israel thinks that if you ignore a problem, it will disappear. It will not disappear. There is a complex issue here that needs to be addressed. What mother would want to send her son to be a combat soldier if she knows that he is exposed to lawsuits? He has no protection. This can hurt you if you are traveling, or if you want to work for an international company. The first thing that will come up about you on the internet is that you took part in genocide."
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"On a personal level, I am afraid," added D. "I returned to Israel a few days ago. I don't know what would have happened if this had been filed before I returned, I might have been arrested in a foreign country. This is a big problem, especially when no official has bothered to contact me until now. I am worried about the next time this happens to me, when I want to travel, and also in terms of career and investments. Even in the future, this thing will exist. What goes online will be there forever, and I will associated with it."