Hind Rajab Foundation sues Israeli officer in the Netherlands for war crimes in Gaza

The Hind Rajab Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has filed a complaint with the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office against Lavi Lazarovitz, a serving Major in the Israeli Air Force (IAF), who is currently in the Netherlands as part of the “CyberArk World Tour” organised by the Israeli cybersecurity firm CyberArk.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Foundation said while Lazarovitz appears publicly in the Netherlands as a tech executive, he is also an active-duty officer in the Israeli Air Force (IAF) —a military branch that played a central and devastating role in the recent genocide committed against the Palestinian population of Gaza.

“Lazarovitz appeared in uniform in a CyberArk promotional video filmed during the peak of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza,” the statement said.

The complaint cited reports from international organisations including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the United Nations, which documented Israeli air forces’ targeting of residential areas and civilian facilities, including hospitals, schools, and refugee camps, resulting in large numbers of civilian casualties.

The Foundation described the attacks as potential war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It emphasised the need to detain Lazarovitz and open a preliminary investigation into his possible role in these operations, noting that his military rank, the timing of his public appearance, and his location during the bombing constitute “reasonable grounds to believe he was involved in or directly or indirectly supported military operations”.

The Foundation warned that allowing individuals suspected of involvement in international crimes to move freely and speak at public events could turn the Netherlands into a “safe haven” to evade international accountability.

It emphasised that this step is part of a broader legal strategy aimed at holding perpetrators of war crimes accountable, in cooperation with international legal teams and based on the principle of universal jurisdiction guaranteed by Dutch and international law.