UN Envoy Calls for Interrogation of Israeli Soldiers in Bali
Translated & summarized from N12 by baba
A UN official urged Indonesia to interrogate Israeli soldiers arriving in Bali for potential war crimes in Gaza, suggesting they be handed over to judicial authorities if evidence supports it. The call follows an incident where an Israeli fitness center owner in Bali reportedly refused service to Israeli tourists due to their military background. This has led to online backlash and counter-campaigns, and other Israeli visitors have also faced online harassment and account deletions in Indonesia.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- UN official Francesca Albanese called for interrogating Israeli soldiers in Bali over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
- Albanese urged Indonesian authorities to question Israelis upon arrival and transfer suspects if evidence warrants.
- A previous incident involved a Bali fitness center owner expelling Israelis due to their IDF service.
- The fitness center incident sparked online protests and counter-protests from pro-Palestinian and Israeli users.
- Israeli content creators have also faced online harassment and account deletions in Indonesia.
A United Nations official has called on Indonesian authorities to interrogate Israeli soldiers arriving in Bali for vacations, aiming to examine their potential involvement in war crimes in Gaza. Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, made this appeal during a conference in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital. She suggested that airport officials should be prepared to question young Israelis and, if evidence warrants, transfer suspected individuals to judicial authorities. Albanese clarified that her call was not for the persecution of Israelis based on their nationality.
The article also references a prior incident where an Israeli fitness center owner in Bali reportedly expelled three Israeli tourists, citing their military service. In a widely circulated video, the owner was heard telling one of the Israelis, who was with two friends, "You were in the IDF, so you are baby killers and you cannot enter here." The owner later claimed one of the men behaved disrespectfully and stated that the establishment would continue to refuse service to Israelis who had served in the military.
Following the fitness center incident, pro-Palestinian social media pages praised the decision, while Israeli users retaliated by flooding the business's Google page with negative reviews. In response, counter-campaigns urged users to post positive reviews to offset the protest.
This incident in Bali is part of a broader trend. In recent months, profiles of Israeli content creators visiting Indonesia have been circulated on social media, along with details of visa facilitators. One affected individual, blogger "Ohad the Wanderer," reported that his Instagram account was deleted, allegedly due to reports from pro-Palestinian groups, after he faced criticism for visiting the country as an Israeli.
