ANKARA

A UK-based rights group has asked Albanian authorities to arrest an "Israeli soldier" suspected of war crimes in Gaza, a move that has drawn new attention after a media report identified the suspect as the country’s chief rabbi.

On Wednesday, the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP), a UK-based organization that has launched cases against Israeli officials abroad, filed a formal complaint with Albania’s prosecutor general.

Earlier in March, the ICJP announced the launch of “Global 195,” a worldwide legal coalition dedicated to holding accountable Israeli and dual-national individuals alleged to have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

The ICJP said it notified police about “a member of the (Israeli army) suspected of participating in war crimes.”

The group said the individual served in the 55th Paratroopers Battalion of the Israeli army’s 98th Division, which operated in Gaza during some of the war’s heaviest phases.

“We have reason to believe that this individual is currently present within Albanian jurisdiction, and that domestic police must urgently investigate and arrest them,” the ICJP said in its statement.

The ICJP cited photographs showing the suspect in Gaza wearing the battalion’s pin and open-source evidence placing the division in Khan Younis between December 2023 and February 2024.

The group also said that during this period, Israeli forces destroyed critical infrastructure, including water lines, and committed attacks that resulted in civilian deaths.

The ICJP stated that its complaint is based on more than 130 eyewitness testimonies and meets international criminal law standards.

It reminded Tirana that as a signatory to the Rome Statute and the Genocide Convention, Albania has an obligation to investigate and, if warranted, prosecute such crimes under Article 7 of its criminal code.

The ICJP notice did not name the soldier. But later, on Wednesday, the Middle East Eye (MEE) reported that the suspect is Yoel Kaplan, an Israeli-American citizen who has served for more than a decade as Albania’s chief rabbi.

Kaplan divides his time between Israel, Albania, and Greece and has acknowledged being “very active” in the Israeli military.

The MEE published photographs and video footage of Kaplan in uniform with the 55th Battalion, identifying him as a Chabad-Lubavitch member. In earlier interviews, Kaplan claimed that his role was to boost Israeli soldiers' morale, even blowing a shofar (a traditional ram's horn) in front of tanks in Gaza and Lebanon.

“I’m very active (in the military), and I think it’s the time to be active because if not in this war, when?” Kaplan told the MEE in a previous interview. He said fighting alongside his son, also an officer, gave him “great pride for all of Israel.”

The 98th Division was stationed in Khan Younis during months of intense Israeli bombardment, which rights groups say killed large numbers of civilians and leveled wide areas of the city.

The ICJP argued that soldiers involved in those operations could face the same type of liability as senior Israeli officials already targeted by International Criminal Court warrants, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Kaplan has not commented publicly on the ICJP filing. In the past, he has downplayed pro-Palestinian protests in Albania and insisted he enjoys government backing. On state television, he has presented himself as a religious leader focused on peace and interfaith dialogue, the MEE report said.

Albanian authorities have not yet said whether they will act on the complaint.