Hawks probe SA man serving in IDF sniper unit
The Hawks is investigating a South African man who has been identified as a member of an elite sniper unit in the Israeli Defense Forces.
According to News24, a Palestinian journalist identified the 22-year-old Sandton man as a member of the unit that was operating in Gaza.
The National Conventional Arms Control Committee said it handed its information to the Hawks for its investigation.
Hawks spokesperson Thandi Mbambo confirmed that investigations are ongoing in the matter.
"The investigation is ongoing and conducted in terms of the Rome Statute of the International Crimes Court and possibly in contravention of the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act. The investigators are still gathering evidence.
"It must also be noted that corroborating evidence is needed from foreign jurisdictions. Also the DPCI isn't in the norm of mentioning the names of persons of interest nor the suspects in our investigations.”
Two weeks ago, News24 reported that Palestinian investigative journalist Younis Tirawi identified the man as a member of an elite sniper unit known as Refaim (Ghost in Hebrew), whose members uploaded videos of themselves shooting unarmed men of military age in Gaza.
The man allegedly appears in Tirawi's documentary Ghost Unit.
Last week, AFP reported that the government of Belgium launched an investigation into possible war crimes committed by one of its nationals who was identified in the same documentary as a member of the same 21-member unit. The unit also includes three Americans, two Frenchmen, a German, and an Italian.
The Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act requires any South African wanting to render foreign military assistance in another country to first apply to the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) for the application to be considered by the defence minister.
News24 quoted South African National Defence Force spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini as saying the force was aware of the man’s presence in Israel.
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