KING PHILIPPE of Belgium from Britannica. He said what’s happening in Gaza is ‘a disgrace to humanity’. His stance is a huge break from other European leaders’ blind and almost fanatical support for Zionist Israel’s ‘genocide’ in Gaza.
Siargao Island native resident and singer Maria Lalaine Tokong slammed in a social media post the unruly and misbehaving Israeli visitors, some of them Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) members who came straight from military service (in Gaza?)
Perhaps as IDF members, they served in what the United Nations described as “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), the world’s “biggest open-air prison”
Philippine-based human rights groups, other CSOs with “Islamic” and “Bangsamoro” in their names should follow what the HRF and GLAN are doing, going after Israeli soldiers who boasted in many of their social media posts their participation in the killing of Palestinians and destruction of their properties, farmlands, animals, etc.
Short link: https://wp.me/paaccn-QKK
- EDD K. USMAN | X (Twitter): @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 |Facebook: SDN – SciTech & Digital News
MANILA, July 22, 2025 (SDN) — The Kingdom of Belgium has shown that Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers are not immune from arrest.
In the process, the government of the European Union (EU) member showed to the world, particularly other EU members, that it has balls.
A report on Middle East Eye on July 21 cited the arrest of two unnamed Israeli soldiers who traveled to Belgium, apparently on rest & recreation (R&R), and proceeded to watch the Tomorrowland music festival in Boom, a town in Belgium. It was during the event that Belgian federal police forcibly arrested the two on Sunday.
Siargao Island residents, business owners lambast unruly and misbehaving Israeli visitors
The Belgian authorities acted in the “milestone” arrest following two rights groups’ — Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) and Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) — complaints of war crimes involvement in Israel and son of a Poland native Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians as described by the United Nations and world leaders in several statements.
HRF and GLAN said in a statement quoted by the Middle East Eye news organization that two soldiers “were identified and arrested with a clear show of force at the Tomorrowland festival in Boom.”
An HRF official described the arrest as a “major milestone”, apparently because it is the first time that an EU government, even first time in the world, acted against the IDF military apparatus members.
“Within the framework of the long fight for accountability, this is a major milestone. This is the first time that a European country acknowledges universal jurisdiction against Israeli soldiers and acts upon it in a forceful way, arrests them, and brings them to a police station to interrogate them,” HRF Director Dyab Abou Jahjah told Middle East Eye.
A GLAN legal official echoed the statement about the arrest, senior lawyer Dearblah Minogue, saying it is “the biggest step for accountability since the beginning of the genocide, because law enforcement in Europe actually took action and arrested some suspects”.
Minogue hoped that the Belgian government’s action on the two IDF soldiers would create a domino effect across the EU and the world over, noting that the accusations against them include using Palestinians as human shields and “wanton destruction” as seen through the video clips the Israeli military men arrogantly posted on social media.
In relation with the milestone development, the Middle East Eye also cited that the Belgian police arrest of the two IDF soldiers accused of war crimes in the Israeli “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians came on the same day, Sunday, that the monarch of Belgium, King Philippe, had described the Gaza situation being perpetrated by Israel as “a disgrace to humanity”.
King Philippe, in a start break from the unconscionable defense by many European leaders of Israel’s “genocide” in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), described as the “biggest open-air prison”, voiced support for the UN calls for “an immediate end to this unbearable crisis”.
Belgium’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office (FPO) received HRF and GLAN’s two complaints on July 18 and 19 that mentioned “serious violations of international humanitarian law allegedly committed in the Gaza Strip by two members of the Israeli army” who attended the Tomorrowland music event.
According to the Middle East Eye‘s report the FPO as cited by the two groups “said it has determined that it might have jurisdiction on the case based on the new Article 14/10 of the Preliminary Title of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which entered into force on 28 April 2024. The article grants Belgian courts’ jurisdiction over crimes committed outside Belgium based on the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Convention against Torture of 1984.”
In a related situation in the Philippines, particularly on popular Siargao Island, a native resident, singer/netizen Maria Lalaine Tokong detailed in his posts on Facebook about the “growing presence of young Israeli travelers on our island many of whom arrive straight from military service.”
She continued as she lamented the unruly behavior of the Israeli visitors that disturb the popular island’s peace, its people, the community, and businesses.
Philippine human rights groups and other CSOs should follow what HRF and GLAN are doing, going after IDF soldiers accused of war crimes in Gaza
“We understand that some come to rest, to heal, or to find peace and truly, everyone deserves that. But we cannot ignore what we see and feel. Some arrive in large groups, move with an air of dominance, purchase land, drive recklessly, and create their own communities that feel disconnected from the rest of us disregarding the culture, the customs, and the quiet rhythm of this place.”
In an article on Arab News, a Saudi newspaper, it mentioned how complaints are growing island-wide against the Israeli visitors, treating local residents badly and even calling local staff as “slaves” as well as “illegally raising their flags on boats, trashing local homestays, violating the island’s no-noise curfew past midnight, and verbally and physically assaulting locals.”
The paper’s report got the information from the “Siargao Business Classified 2.0” page on social media, with users pushing back on the Israelis:
- “They have no right to put up a cultural center as they have no roots or connection to Filipinos’ history. ‘Free Palestine’ today, so we won’t be shouting ‘Free Siargao’ tomorrow.”
- “These (Israeli) people were welcomed into our country and treated with genuine hospitality, yet they choose to disregard our laws and disrespect our people and communities. The local government of Siargao should strictly enforce all local rules and regulations.”
- “For the local government in Siargao, you better act. Remember you’re still part of the Philippines, you might one day be surprised that Siargao is now ‘the promised land.’”
Some business owners have also described what the Israeli visitors’ acts as “defamation…economic sabotage” as they posted negative reviews when confronted of their misbehavior. Locals have been pushing back on the Israelis, short of saying “go back to your country”.
The people of Siargao Island are also vehemently opposing the Israelis’ plans to build a community center, called “Chabad House”, saying there is no need for it on the peaceful island, fearing it could be a source of trouble.
Meanwhile, Philippine human rights groups and other civil society organizations (CSOs), particularly those whose names has the term “Islamic” and “Bangsamoro” or “Moro” should take heed and follow the examples set by the HRF and GLAN groups in their complaint for war crimes against Israeli soldiers who served or are serving in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
Observers said these human rights groups and other CSOs in the country may collaborate with HRF and GLAN to determine and get the names of IDF soldiers already been known and reported to be involved in the Gaza “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians.
There are many groups in the Philippines that bear the term “Islamic” or “Bangsamoro” and they may try to ask the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to provide the identities of Israeli soldiers on R&R vacation in the country, who are probably lounging in beaches like on the islands of Siargao, Boracay, Panglao, Puerto Galera, among others, observers said.
HRF and GLAN have names, photographs, and videos of Israeli soldiers who have been boasting of their participation in the Gaza “genocide” in their social media posts. They have compiled countless videos and photographs that Israeli soldiers arrogantly have posted on their social media accounts, showing their brutalities and callous treatment of Palestinian children, women, other non-combatants, and properties and animals.
HRF and GLAN have already filed cases against Israeli soldiers in parts of the world.
In Brazil earlier this year, a scared Israeli soldier who served in the Gaza war fled after a judge ordered the federal authorities to arrest him on the HRF complaint.
The group had also asked for the arrest of Israeli soldiers on visit to Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Chile, and this is expected to increase with other countries. Cases were also filed in Belgium, Brazil, France, South Africa, and Sri Lanka versus named IDF aoldiers. (√)