The Illusion of Accountability: Israel Investigates Itself

19 August 2026, Brussels, Belgium – The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has no confidence in the Israeli military’s reported decision to open criminal investigations into the murder of Hind Rajab, six members of her family, and the two Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics dispatched to rescue them on January 29, 2024, or into the targeted killing of 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers by Israeli forces in Rafah on March 23, 2025.

These reported investigations, even if they do occur, should not be mistaken for a genuine step toward justice.

The Illusion of Accountability: Israel Investigates Itself

As numerous Palestinian and international legal and human rights organizations have documented for years, Israel’s internal investigations into the criminal conduct of its own soldiers are fundamentally flawed and cannot be regarded as credible mechanisms of accountability.

Investigations into violations committed by Israeli forces overwhelmingly end without meaningful examination, prosecution, or punishment. In the small number of cases in which soldiers have been convicted of crimes, the punishments imposed have often been exceptionally lenient or administrative in nature.

The killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh provides a stark example. After conducting its own investigation into her May 2022 killing, the Israeli military acknowledged in September 2022 that there was a “high possibility” that Abu Akleh had been shot by Israeli military fire. Yet the Military Advocate General concluded that there was no suspicion of a criminal offense warranting a Military Police investigation. No criminal investigation was opened.

Why Now?

The question is: why now? After two and a half years of genocide, why has Israel suddenly decided to open criminal investigations into these two specific cases, among the countless crimes documented by international bodies, human rights and legal organizations, journalists, and independent investigators?

The answer lies in Israel’s own record.

During the current genocide alone, Israel claims to have referred more than 1,000 incidents involving suspected misconduct by its forces in Gaza to its internal Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism and to have opened 74 criminal investigations. Yet no comprehensive public accounting of the status and outcomes of those investigations has been made available.

An independent review by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) of 52 publicly reported Israeli military probes into alleged violations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank found that 88 percent had either been closed without a finding of wrongdoing or remained under review without any publicly reported outcome. Only one resulted in a prison sentence.

This is not new. It is the continuation of a decades-long pattern in which announcements of internal investigations have repeatedly failed to produce meaningful accountability for crimes committed against Palestinians.

Against this record, the sudden announcement of criminal investigations into the murders of Hind Rajab and the 15 Palestinian paramedics should not be mistaken for a genuine turn toward justice. These investigations come amid mounting international scrutiny and an established record of Israeli internal investigations that overwhelmingly end without prosecution or meaningful punishment and are intended to deflect from this growing pressure.

Their purpose is not to deliver accountability, but to preserve its appearance while perpetuating impunity.

The timing must also be understood in its broader context. The announcement comes as Israel faces renewed international scrutiny over the recent escalation of the genocide in Gaza, intensified attacks on South Lebanon, and its renewed aggression against Syria.

We Know Who Killed Hind Rajab

In October 2025, following an extensive and careful investigation, HRF publicly identified the Israeli military unit, commanders, and soldiers responsible for the murder of Hind Rajab, six members of her family, and the two Palestinian Red Crescent paramedics dispatched to rescue them:

• Colonel Beni Aharon, Commander of the 401st Armored Brigade (at the time of the crime)
• Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Ella, Commander of the 52nd Armored Battalion (at the time of the crime )
• Major Sean Glass, Commander of the Vampire Empire Company (at the time of the crime )
• 22 IDF Soldiers, whose names HRF has chosen not to disclose at this stage

From left to right: Beni Aharon, Sr. Commanding Officer of the 401st Armored Brigade operating in Gaza City during the attack, Daniel Ella, Lt. Colonel and battalion-level commander of the 52nd Battalion, directly under the 401st Brigade at the time of the murders, Sean Glass, Commander of the “Vampire Empire” Company, 52nd Battalion, 401st Armored Brigade, responsible for the unit that committed the murders.

HRF has submitted the names of these individuals and the evidence of their involvement in the Hind Rajab case to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and will continue to pursue criminal complaints in national jurisdictions around the world until justice is served for this crime.

Despite the evidence establishing the presence and involvement of Israeli forces, the Israeli military long denied responsibility for these murders, at one point claiming that no Israeli soldiers were present in the area.

Now, after sustained pressure and mounting international scrutiny, Israel has been forced to confront what the evidence has long established. But even this acknowledgement is being used to protect those responsible. Not content with just killing Palestinians, Israel now seeks to instrumentalize the victims of its genocide in Gaza to evade international accountability.

It is an insult to the dead.

Israel Cannot Investigate Itself Out of International Accountability

Through these investigations, Israel seeks to present itself to the world as willing and able to investigate its own forces, while attempting to quiet the growing demand for genuine accountability. Such claims of domestic accountability also carry profound implications for efforts to prosecute Israeli perpetrators before international and national courts abroad.

HRF will not allow internal Israeli proceedings to become a shield against genuine prosecution.

We will continue working to break down the wall of impunity. We know what is necessary to achieve justice in these cases, and we will continue pursuing criminal complaints against Israeli perpetrators in national jurisdictions around the world, pressing governments to fulfill their legal and moral obligations: to investigate, arrest, prosecute, and punish those responsible for these crimes to the fullest extent of the law.

As Dyab Abou Jahjah, Director General at HRF, stated:

“We have no trust whatsoever in the Israeli judicial system. This is a charade aimed at whitewashing and exonerating the criminals who killed Hind Rajab and her family. We know who killed Hind. We know the responsibility of the 401st Armoured Brigade under Beni Aharon, the 52nd Battalion commanded by Daniel Ella, and the Vampire Empire Company commanded by Sean Glass. These people should be behind bars.

We believe justice will be served, but not by a system responsible for justifying crimes committed during the genocide. Justice will be served through international justice, through the ICC, and through national jurisdictions abroad. HRF will continue on this path, and we will not be fooled by these maneuvers.”