Hind Rajab Foundation sparks Israeli meltdown after Europol talks

The Israel lobby has freaked out after European police service, Europol, began to engage with the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) in efforts to address Israel’s impunity for its genocide and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

In a statement, the HRF — the group named after a five-year-old Palestinian girl murdered, along with her family, by an Israeli tank in Gaza and dedicated to bringing Israeli war criminals to account — said that it had been invited by Europol to speak in its annual gathering and that Israel lobby groups had reacted with ‘consternation’:

On 22 October 2025, Europol invited the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) to speak at its annual meeting in The Hague. This invitation forms part of a broader communication process and an exploration of possible cooperation between HRF and Europol. In the last two days, several Israeli lobby groups and media outlets have expressed consternation regarding this interaction.

It is not unusual for law enforcement to cooperate with civil-society organisations in the fight against impunity. In fact, during the Rwandan genocide and other mass-atrocity contexts, civil-society organisations played an instrumental role in identifying perpetrators and uncovering critical evidence. The pursuit of justice for the genocide in Gaza will be no different.

The fact that lobby groups defending or denying the genocide are angered by this cooperation is no surprise. They seek to obstruct justice; we seek to allow justice to take its course.

On the factual side, an HRF delegation consisting of our Head of Litigation, Natacha Bracq; Operational Director, Karim Hassoun; Board Member, Haroon Raza; and led by our General Director, Dyab Abou Jahjah, attended the meeting in The Hague. Mr. Abou Jahjah addressed the assembled delegations during a session organised specifically for the foundation, and Ms. Bracq delivered a presentation outlining HRF’s methodology in evidence gathering and case-building.

The statement continued:

Delegations from several European countries attended the sessions and expressed strong interest in our work and in exploring cooperation. Multiple bilateral meetings took place with national war-crimes units and other law-enforcement representatives, during which mutual cooperation was discussed—particularly in relation to sharing HRF evidence on Israeli war criminals who visit these countries or who hold their nationality.

Israeli lobby groups and media outlets have spent months pushing smears and defamation against the Hind Rajab Foundation and its founders. Their reaction now is predictable: Europol’s decision to engage with HRF and invite it to its annual convention makes clear that these accusations are baseless. A law-enforcement agency would never extend such an invitation if it had even the slightest doubt about the foundation or its leadership. This is precisely why the hasbara machinery is now frustrated.

Furthermore, Europol is a European law-enforcement agency, and the HRF is a European organisation. Foreign lobby groups and foreign governments cannot be allowed to dictate how European institutions engage with European citizens and European civil society.

The Hind Rajab Foundation remains fully focused on its mission: bringing war criminals to justice and ending Israel’s impunity. That mission necessarily includes cooperation with law-enforcement bodies and relevant stakeholders across Europe and beyond.

HRF added that it:

remains fully focused on its mission of bringing war criminals to justice and ending Israel’s ability to commit its crimes unpunished. That mission necessarily includes cooperation with law-enforcement bodies and relevant stakeholders across Europe and beyond.

So effectively has it pursued its mission so far that Israel and its agents have threatened the lives of Hind Rajab Foundation chair Dyab Abou Jahjah and his whole family.

Featured image via HRF