Swiss prosecutors announced that they had received a criminal complaint against Israeli President Isaac Herzog, during his participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos, stressing that the complaints were linked to crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Swiss prosecutors reported, on Friday, that a criminal complaint had been filed against Israeli President Isaac Herzog during a visit to Switzerland, in light of accusations related to crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza.
The Federal Prosecutor's Office said it had received a criminal complaint against the Israeli president, who is attending the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday to discuss the war in Gaza.
He said in a statement: “Criminal complaints will be considered in accordance with usual procedures,” adding that he is communicating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “to study the issue of the immunity of the person concerned.”
He did not clarify the details of the lawsuits or the party that filed them.
In turn, people believed to be behind the lawsuit issued a statement entitled “Judicial action against crimes against humanity,” stating that a number of individuals whose names were not revealed had brought charges through federal prosecutors and cantonal authorities in Basel, Bern, and Zurich.
The statement explained that the complainants are demanding criminal prosecution in parallel with the case filed by South Africa before the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of committing genocide through its military operation in Gaza.
The statement pointed out that canceling immunity is possible “under certain conditions,” including cases of suspicion of crimes against humanity, which are “conditions available in this case.”
South Africa launched the urgent case before the International Court of Justice in The Hague this month, noting that Israel violated the United Nations Convention on Genocide signed in 1948.
South Africa asked the judges to order Israel to stop its military operation in Gaza.
After her detention, an initial Israeli agreement to transfer tax funds to the Palestinian Authority
Hebrew media reported that the Israeli Prime Minister had reached a preliminary agreement with his Finance Minister to transfer Palestinian tax funds to the Palestinian Authority via a third country.
On Friday, Hebrew media revealed an initial Israeli agreement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to transfer tax funds (clearance) to the Palestinian Authority, via a third country.
The Hebrew Broadcasting Authority said, "Netanyahu agreed last night, with the Minister of Finance, in the presence of Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, to transfer the tax revenues (of Palestinian imports via Israel) to a third country, which pledges not to transfer these funds to the Gaza Strip."
She added that, according to the agreement, Smotrich "has the authority to freeze all the Authority's funds held by Israel, if it turns out that the money is being transferred to Palestinian Authority employees in Gaza."
She pointed out that the Israeli Ministerial Council for Security and Political Affairs (the Cabinet) did not vote on this agreement.
The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation did not clarify when the agreement would enter into force.
The Hebrew Authority also did not mention the name of the third country to which the funds would be transferred, but the Israeli Channel 12 said that “the talk is about Norway.”
Israel collects taxes on behalf of the Palestinian Authority in exchange for Palestinian imports of imported goods. Israel is supposed to transfer money to the Palestinian Authority monthly, averaging 750-800 million shekels (about 190 million dollars), of which 270 million shekels are transferred to the Gaza Strip under normal circumstances ( About $75 million).
The funds allocated to Gaza amount to approximately 170 million shekels, directed to the salaries of Palestinian Authority employees in the Strip, and 100 million shekels to pay the fuel bill for the Gaza power station.
The US administration has repeatedly called on Israel during the past months to accelerate the transfer of tax funds to the Palestinian Authority.
On January 4, the United States of America warned Israel that failure to transfer tax funds to the Palestinian Authority “will lead to its collapse, as it is its main source of income.”
The Palestinian Authority relies on clearing funds to pay the salaries of its employees, as the payment of salaries for the months of October, November, and December was delayed, and half of the salary was paid to the employees according to an agreement with local banks.
Smotrich had previously directed the freezing of Palestinian clearing funds, due to what he said was the Authority’s failure to condemn the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation.
Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza, which as of Friday left “24,762 martyrs, 62,108 injured, and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” according to the Palestinian authorities and the United Nations.