פושעי מלחמה / War Criminals (2025)
Kamera: Olympus Pen D3
Linse: F.Zuiko f1.7 / 32mm
Film: Kodak 5222 @ ISO 400
Kjemi: Fomadon Excel (stock / 25 min. @ 20°C)
Owen Jones: One Thousand Israeli Soldiers Face War Crimes Complaint (Publ. 8 Oct. 2024)
Bucharest | 7 May 2025:
The Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice in Romania has formally acknowledged the war crimes complaint filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation against Israeli soldier Orel Benyaish, a member of the 432nd Battalion of the Givati Brigade. The complaint, submitted on behalf of the Foundation by attorney Elena Lazăr, has been referred to the Military Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Bucharest Military Court of Appeal for further examination.
The legal action concerns Benyaish’s alleged involvement in the intentional destruction of civilian property during Israel’s military operations in Gaza, including the demolition of the homes in the Nuseirat camp on 12 November 2024. The complaint is based on documented open-source material, including videos and photographs posted by the accused on social media, which appear to show direct participation in and endorsement of the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
The submission is grounded in both Romanian domestic law—specifically Articles 438 and 441 of the Romanian Penal Code, which criminalize genocide and war crimes against property—and relevant international legal instruments, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Geneva Conventions, to which Romania is a party.
In a written communication, Romanian authorities confirmed that the materials submitted by the Hind Rajab Foundation were officially registered and forwarded to the competent military prosecution authority for further processing.
Legal Context and Next Steps
The complaint also includes references to broader patterns of destruction in Gaza, particularly the use of the Netzarim Corridor as part of a strategy that has resulted in widespread displacement and destruction of civilian areas. Reports by Forensic Architecture and various international observers are cited in support of these claims.
In light of the open-source evidence and Romania’s international obligations, the Foundation has called on Romanian authorities to consider preventive measures, including placing the suspect on a travel watchlist, initiating the confiscation of digital evidence, and opening a formal investigation.
The Hind Rajab Foundation welcomes the decision by Romanian authorities to treat this matter with the seriousness it warrants and to act in accordance with international legal standards.
“The referral to military prosecution is a serious development,” said HRF's Chairman Dyab Abou Jahjah (b. 1971). “It shows that Romania is taking its international legal obligations seriously and is willing to consider accountability for war crimes, even when committed outside its borders.”
- Hind Rajab Foundation: Romanian Authorities Refer HRF War Crimes Complaint Against Israeli Soldier to Military Prosecutor (Publ. 7 May 2025)
Bucharest, March 31, 2025:
Today, the Hind Rajab Foundation, through its legal representative, has filed a criminal complaint before the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice against Orel Benyaish, an Israeli soldier from the 432nd Battalion of the Givati Brigade. He is accused of committing war crimes and acts of genocide during Israel’s ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The evidence submitted includes images and videos posted by Benyaish himself, showing his direct involvement in the destruction of residential buildings in the Netzarim corridor—a heavily targeted area where thousands of Palestinian civilians were forcibly displaced. He appears in uniform, smiling in front of homes rigged with explosives. In these same images is fellow soldier Yuval Vagdani, also of the Givati Brigade, who was photographed in the moment explosives were being placed for a controlled demolition. The two acted together, knowingly and deliberately, in destroying civilian homes without any military justification.
This is not a matter of battlefield tragedy. It is the calculated and boastful destruction of civilian life, carried out with impunity and celebrated in social media posts. The detonation, which reduced entire homes to rubble, is not only a war crime under international humanitarian law—it is an expression of genocidal intent. These actions were not part of legitimate combat. They were designed to humiliate, terrorize, and annihilate a people, in flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions, the Rome Statute, and the most fundamental norms of human dignity.
Last December in Brazil, a judge issued a probe order against Yuval Vagdani for his role in this same crime. The Romanian complaint is therefore not isolated, but part of a broader international legal effort to end the impunity of soldiers who participate in the collective punishment and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population.
Romania, as a party to the Rome Statute and the Geneva Conventions, bears not only the legal competence but the moral obligation to act. When war criminals walk freely on foreign soil, justice demands intervention. The principle of universal jurisdiction exists precisely for such moments—when those responsible for atrocities are beyond the reach of justice in their own countries.
The international community has long borne witness to the structural impunity enjoyed by Israeli military personnel. This impunity has emboldened perpetrators to commit unspeakable crimes—openly, proudly, and without fear of consequence. It is time for this cycle to end.
We call on Romanian authorities to take urgent action: to launch a full criminal investigation, to prevent the suspect from leaving the country, to secure all relevant digital and physical evidence, and to cooperate with other jurisdictions pursuing related cases. Anything less would be a betrayal of the legal and ethical commitments that bind all nations in the defense of humanity.
Justice must not remain hostage to political considerations.
When the machinery of state is used to carry out acts of ethnic destruction, it falls on all people of conscience, and all states of law, to say: not in our name.
- Hind Rajab Foundation: Complaint for War Crimes and Genocide Lodged Against Israeli Givati Brigade Soldier Before Romania’s High Prosecutor’s Office (Publ. 31 March 2025)
פושעי מלחמה / War Criminals (2025)
Kamera: Olympus Pen D3
Linse: F.Zuiko f1.7 / 32mm
Film: Kodak 5222 @ ISO 400
Kjemi: Fomadon Excel (stock / 25 min. @ 20°C)
Owen Jones: One Thousand Israeli Soldiers Face War Crimes Complaint (Publ. 8 Oct. 2024)
Bucharest | 7 May 2025:
The Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice in Romania has formally acknowledged the war crimes complaint filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation against Israeli soldier Orel Benyaish, a member of the 432nd Battalion of the Givati Brigade. The complaint, submitted on behalf of the Foundation by attorney Elena Lazăr, has been referred to the Military Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Bucharest Military Court of Appeal for further examination.
The legal action concerns Benyaish’s alleged involvement in the intentional destruction of civilian property during Israel’s military operations in Gaza, including the demolition of the homes in the Nuseirat camp on 12 November 2024. The complaint is based on documented open-source material, including videos and photographs posted by the accused on social media, which appear to show direct participation in and endorsement of the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
The submission is grounded in both Romanian domestic law—specifically Articles 438 and 441 of the Romanian Penal Code, which criminalize genocide and war crimes against property—and relevant international legal instruments, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Geneva Conventions, to which Romania is a party.
In a written communication, Romanian authorities confirmed that the materials submitted by the Hind Rajab Foundation were officially registered and forwarded to the competent military prosecution authority for further processing.
Legal Context and Next Steps
The complaint also includes references to broader patterns of destruction in Gaza, particularly the use of the Netzarim Corridor as part of a strategy that has resulted in widespread displacement and destruction of civilian areas. Reports by Forensic Architecture and various international observers are cited in support of these claims.
In light of the open-source evidence and Romania’s international obligations, the Foundation has called on Romanian authorities to consider preventive measures, including placing the suspect on a travel watchlist, initiating the confiscation of digital evidence, and opening a formal investigation.
The Hind Rajab Foundation welcomes the decision by Romanian authorities to treat this matter with the seriousness it warrants and to act in accordance with international legal standards.
“The referral to military prosecution is a serious development,” said HRF's Chairman Dyab Abou Jahjah (b. 1971). “It shows that Romania is taking its international legal obligations seriously and is willing to consider accountability for war crimes, even when committed outside its borders.”
- Hind Rajab Foundation: Romanian Authorities Refer HRF War Crimes Complaint Against Israeli Soldier to Military Prosecutor (Publ. 7 May 2025)
Bucharest, March 31, 2025:
Today, the Hind Rajab Foundation, through its legal representative, has filed a criminal complaint before the Romanian Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice against Orel Benyaish, an Israeli soldier from the 432nd Battalion of the Givati Brigade. He is accused of committing war crimes and acts of genocide during Israel’s ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip.
The evidence submitted includes images and videos posted by Benyaish himself, showing his direct involvement in the destruction of residential buildings in the Netzarim corridor—a heavily targeted area where thousands of Palestinian civilians were forcibly displaced. He appears in uniform, smiling in front of homes rigged with explosives. In these same images is fellow soldier Yuval Vagdani, also of the Givati Brigade, who was photographed in the moment explosives were being placed for a controlled demolition. The two acted together, knowingly and deliberately, in destroying civilian homes without any military justification.
This is not a matter of battlefield tragedy. It is the calculated and boastful destruction of civilian life, carried out with impunity and celebrated in social media posts. The detonation, which reduced entire homes to rubble, is not only a war crime under international humanitarian law—it is an expression of genocidal intent. These actions were not part of legitimate combat. They were designed to humiliate, terrorize, and annihilate a people, in flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions, the Rome Statute, and the most fundamental norms of human dignity.
Last December in Brazil, a judge issued a probe order against Yuval Vagdani for his role in this same crime. The Romanian complaint is therefore not isolated, but part of a broader international legal effort to end the impunity of soldiers who participate in the collective punishment and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population.
Romania, as a party to the Rome Statute and the Geneva Conventions, bears not only the legal competence but the moral obligation to act. When war criminals walk freely on foreign soil, justice demands intervention. The principle of universal jurisdiction exists precisely for such moments—when those responsible for atrocities are beyond the reach of justice in their own countries.
The international community has long borne witness to the structural impunity enjoyed by Israeli military personnel. This impunity has emboldened perpetrators to commit unspeakable crimes—openly, proudly, and without fear of consequence. It is time for this cycle to end.
We call on Romanian authorities to take urgent action: to launch a full criminal investigation, to prevent the suspect from leaving the country, to secure all relevant digital and physical evidence, and to cooperate with other jurisdictions pursuing related cases. Anything less would be a betrayal of the legal and ethical commitments that bind all nations in the defense of humanity.
Justice must not remain hostage to political considerations.
When the machinery of state is used to carry out acts of ethnic destruction, it falls on all people of conscience, and all states of law, to say: not in our name.
- Hind Rajab Foundation: Complaint for War Crimes and Genocide Lodged Against Israeli Givati Brigade Soldier Before Romania’s High Prosecutor’s Office (Publ. 31 March 2025)