Belgium quizzes two Israelis over war crimes accusations
The federal prosecutor's office said it had "asked the police to locate the two people named in the complaint and to interview them".
Festival-goers gather before the burnt main stage during its dismantling, as they attend the first day of the Tomorrowland electronic music festival, in Boom, northern Belgium. Two Israeli soldiers were briefly held and questioned by Belgian festival authorities over war crimes accusations. (Photo by AFP)
By AFP .
Journalists @New Vision
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Belgian authorities said on Monday that they had briefly held and questioned two israeli citizens who attended an electronic music festival, after pro-Palestinian groups accused them of war crimes.
Prosecutors said they received legal complaints alleging that two Israeli soldiers responsible for "serious violations of international humanitarian law" in Gaza were spotted at the Tomorrowland festival near the northern city of Antwerp last week.
The federal prosecutor's office said it had "asked the police to locate the two people named in the complaint and to interview them".
"Following these interviews, they were released," it said in a statement.
The office said that it took action after concluding that Belgian courts have extraterritorial jurisdiction over alleged war crimes.
"No further information will be given at this stage of the investigation," the office said.
The pair have not been named.
Last week, the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF), a Belgian pro-Palestinian organisation, said it had identified two Israeli soldiers "responsible for grave international crimes" in Gaza among the crowds at Tomorrowland.
It claimed that a group of young Israeli men was seen at the festival waving a flag of the Givati Brigade, an Israeli military unit involved in the fighting in the Palestinian territory.
HRF said it then filed a complaint with prosecutors in association with the Global Legal Action Network, a lawyers group specialising in human rights violations.
One of the world's largest electronic music festivals, Tomorrowland draws music enthusiasts from all over the world.
About 400,000 people are expected to attend the event this year over two weekends.
Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel triggered the war in Gaza, where Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed more than 58,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The UN considers the figures reliable.
Hamas's attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.