3 days ago
Fact Check: No Israeli named ‘Yukhal Yulita' arrested in the Netherlands for war crimes, say officials
An Israeli named 'Yukhal Yulita' has not been arrested by Dutch police, a spokesperson for the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service told Reuters, contrary to social media posts linking an individual of that name to alleged war crimes in Gaza.
'BREAKING: Dutch police have hauled in Israeli officer Yukhal Yulita while she vacationed in Europe — accused by human rights groups of war crimes in Rafah, where Israel massacred civilians and leveled entire neighborhoods,' said Facebook posts, opens new tab on August 10, which shared a picture of a woman next to a police officer.
A spokesperson for the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service's National Office told Reuters in a message: 'I can confirm that we have NOT arrested anybody with this name nor an Israeli national ICC- or international crimes related.'
An Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson told Reuters in a message: "The IDF is not aware of any female officer being detained in any country.' A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in The Hague in an email said it had 'no knowledge of any such incident or of an individual by the name 'Yukhal Yulita'.'
The image, opens new tab shared in the posts dates to an August 29, 2016, article, opens new tab by British tabloid the Daily Mail on revelers in the northern English city of Newcastle. It describes the photograph as showing police marching 'a petite girl (right) away from the scene in the city centre' and cites a now-inactive website.
There are no credible reports that a 'Yukhal Yulita' was arrested in the Netherlands this year.
A similar narrative featuring the same photo was shared online, opens new tab this month that said an individual with the same name was one of two Israelis arrested in Belgium in connection with alleged war crimes.
Belgium's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said in a July 30 press release, opens new tab that it had received two complaints from an NGO against two Israeli soldiers attending the Tomorrowland music festival in Belgium. It added that the cases were referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC), but it did not name the individuals.
Belgium's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
An ICC spokesperson told Reuters in an email that the court has issued three public arrest warrants related to the 'situation of Palestine'., opens new tab The arrest warrants are for Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant. 'Yukhal Yulita' is not listed.
The spokesperson added that no one has been arrested at the request of the court following an ICC arrest warrant over the Gaza conflict.
False. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service told Reuters it had not arrested an Israeli national for alleged war crimes, and the Israeli embassy in the Netherlands said it had no knowledge of such an incident or of an individual named Yukhal Yulita. The image used in the posts dates to an unrelated August 2016 Daily Mail article.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
