Belgian-Lebanese activist to take legal action after Israeli minister’s threat
Belgian-Lebanese activist Dyab Abou Jahjah plans to take legal action over threatening social media posts from an Israeli minister, who referred to Israel's pager attack against Hezbollah. The threat comes shortly after Abou Jahjah and his organisation Hind Rajab Foundation filed a lawsuit against an Israeli soldier.
“Hello to our human rights activist. Watch your pager,” Amichai Chikli wrote on X on Monday afternoon in response to a post by Abou Jahjah, referring to the attack that killed at least 37 people and injured 3,000 in Lebanon on 17 September.
Chikli, Israel's minister responsible for diaspora and combating antisemitism, added a screenshot of a newspaper article that called Abou Jahjah an “ex-Hezbollah terrorist”.
Abou Jahjah told newspaper De Standaard he would go to the police: “This is very dangerous, I take it very seriously,” he said. “This is a minister, not an internet troll.” He wants to take legal action and accuses Chikli of threats and incitement.
The trigger for Chikli's threat is a case that the Hind Rajab Foundation, which Abou Jahjah founded, filed in Brazil against an Israeli soldier. The soldier was there on holiday, having previously served in Gaza. The foundation is suing Israeli soldiers whom Abou Jahjah and his team believe are guilty of war crimes in Gaza.
When they leave Israel, the foundation tries to bring those soldiers to justice. Information is gathered by volunteers mainly through the soldiers' own social media accounts.
In Brazil, a judge issued an arrest warrant against the soldier, who managed to leave the country before police could execute the order. The incident is causing controversy in Israel, where the army urges its soldiers to be careful when they go on holiday. The Hind Rajab Foundation has launched similar cases against Israeli soldiers in at least eight countries, including Belgium.
Abou Jahjah said he had been warned by Belgian security services several weeks ago not to travel abroadand was told to be on his guard against poisoning in particular. He is also concerned that fanatical pro-Israel individuals or soldiers may act against him.
#FlandersNewsService | Dyab Abou Jahjah © BELGA PHOTO HATIM KAGHAT
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