In a surprising turn of events during his visit to Switzerland, Israeli President Isaac Herzog has become the subject of a criminal complaint, as announced by Swiss prosecutors on Friday. The allegations pertain to crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the Gaza war.
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office (BA) confirmed the reception of the criminal complaint against President Herzog, who was present at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos to discuss the ongoing Gaza conflict. The BA stated that the complaints would undergo regular examination procedures, and discussions with the foreign ministry were underway to assess the immunity status of the accused.
While the specific nature of the complaints and the identities of the complainants remain undisclosed, a statement titled “Legal Action Against Crimes Against Humanity” and reportedly linked to the complainants indicated that several individuals had filed charges with federal prosecutors and cantonal authorities in Basel, Bern, and Zurich.
The statement revealed that the plaintiffs sought criminal prosecution concurrently with a case brought before the UN’s International Court of Justice by South Africa. The South African case accuses Israel of genocide in its offensive in Gaza. Addressing the issue of immunity, the statement suggested that under certain circumstances, including alleged crimes against humanity, immunity could be lifted—asserting that these conditions were met in President Herzog’s case.
South Africa initiated the emergency case at the ICJ in The Hague, accusing Israel of violating the 1948 UN Genocide Convention and demanding that the judges instruct Israel to cease its offensive in the Palestinian territory. Israel has vehemently rejected the case, labeling it as “distorted.”
The Gaza conflict, marked by Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7, has resulted in substantial casualties. According to an AFP tally based on official figures, approximately 1,140 people, predominantly civilians, lost their lives. In response, Israel launched a relentless offensive, resulting in the deaths of at least 24,762 Palestinians, with around 70 percent being women, children, and adolescents, as reported by Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Addressing the Davos forum, President Herzog defended Israel’s campaign as an act of “self-defense” and criticized the South African case as “outrageous.” He expressed concern for the suffering in Gaza but maintained that Israel had no choice but to defend itself against enemies entrenched in a vast infrastructure of terror.
