DayofPal– The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has formally lodged a criminal complaint with Romanian authorities, urging them to investigate and apprehend an Israeli soldier currently present in Romania.
The soldier had participated in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, engaging in actions that may constitute war crimes under both Romanian and international law.
The complaint, filed on Tuesday in collaboration with a Romanian legal team, forms part of ICJP’s broader Global 195 initiative, a legal campaign aimed at holding individuals accountable for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza.
As part of its submission, ICJP provided evidence identifying the suspect, including a photograph taken in Gaza. The image depicts the accused alongside another soldier attired in clothing belonging to Palestinian civilians, a detail that ICJP contends further substantiates potential violations of international law.
ICJP underscored the soldier’s direct involvement in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza, asserting that such actions may meet the legal threshold for war crimes under the provisions of both Romanian and international law.
The submission also cited the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, urging Romanian authorities to fulfill their obligations under the Rome Statute, which the country has ratified.
Additionally, it referenced the Romanian Criminal Code’s stipulations concerning war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Under the principles of domestic and international law, Romania is legally compelled to act if a suspected war criminal is present on its soil, ICJP emphasized.
The organization’s legal team has formally requested that Romanian law enforcement detain the suspect, confiscate their electronic devices for forensic analysis, and launch a comprehensive criminal investigation.
“No one who commits international crimes should be able to travel the world with impunity,” stated Tayab Ali, director of ICJP. “Romania now has a legal and moral duty to act. War crimes must be met with justice.”
The Global 195 initiative, officially launched last week, seeks to pursue legal action worldwide against Israeli nationals and dual citizens implicated in alleged war crimes in Gaza.
At its inaugural event in London, ICJP outlined its strategy of leveraging both domestic and international legal mechanisms to hold accountable individuals “spanning the entire Israeli military and political chain of command.”
Addressing a press conference, Ali began by paying tribute to the hundreds of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes following the collapse of the ceasefire.
“Today’s events are a reminder of why initiatives like Global 195 are essential towards creating some form of accountability as this genocide continued unabated and supported by Western governments and global corporations,” he stated.
He further criticized the systemic failures that have allowed impunity for Israeli military soldiers and officials suspected of war crimes, citing the obstruction of international legal bodies and the inaction of national law enforcement agencies in upholding universal jurisdiction principles.
“Under international law, states have a duty to investigate and prosecute war crimes, yet these obligations have been systematically neglected. The launch of Global 195 is a necessary legal intervention to remedy this failure,” Ali asserted.
He outlined the initiative’s scope, confirming that it will target figures “from senior policymakers to operational personnel, who are directly or indirectly responsible for violations of international law.”
ICJP has already gathered 135 eyewitness testimonies from Gaza, corroborated by open-source evidence collected across the enclave. According to Ali, this body of evidence implicates individuals in war crimes that include the indiscriminate bombardment of civilian areas, destruction of essential infrastructure, attacks on designated “safe zones,” policies of mass displacement, and the use of starvation as a weapon against the civilian population.
To ensure the evidentiary integrity of its findings, ICJP has been working closely with former detectives from London’s Metropolitan Police, ensuring that all material meets rigorous forensic standards for potential future prosecutions.
The press conference also featured legal scholars from Bosnia, Canada, Malaysia, Norway, and Turkey, all of whom will collaborate with ICJP in pursuing legal action against individuals accused of war crimes in Gaza.
The Global 195 initiative derives its name from the number of countries within the jurisdiction of international criminal law, reflecting its mission to hold perpetrators accountable on a global scale.
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