Benjamin Netanyahu receives President Isaac Herzog's mandate to form a government on November 13th, 2022. Kobi Gideon, GPO
War crimes charges filed in South Korea against Israeli premier and six other senior Israeli leaders over ongoing war against Hamas.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
Top Israeli political and military leaders are facing charges of war crimes and genocide filed against them in South Korea, in response to their handling of the ongoing war against the Hamas terror organization in Gaza.
The charges were filed by two left-leaning Korean non-governmental organizations, the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) and the Asian Dignity Initiatives group (ADI).
The two groups secured the backing of nearly 5,000 petitioners who signed onto the demand for criminal charges against Israeli leaders.
Several Korean lawmakers signed on to the petition, including a representative in the National Assembly from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.
Seven Israeli leaders were named in the petition, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.
The petitioners accused the Israeli leaders of several war crimes, including use of forbidden weapons, along with genocide, and crimes against humanity.
“The indictment signifies that some 5,000 co-accusers have acknowledged that a genocide occurred in Gaza,” wrote ADI team manager Lee Dong-hwa.
“They are not only mourning but also insisting that the perpetrators be harshly punished according to South Korean law. Common sense dictates that even when war crimes are committed outside of South Korea, they should be investigated according to the law and principles, and the perpetrators should be punished according to the severity of the crime.”
The petition, filed with South Korean authorities under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, were submitted on May 9th, but went largely unnoticed in Israel until recently.
On Monday, Yedioth Aharanoth reported that Israel’s Foreign Ministry has advised National Security Minister Ben-Gvir and several others named in the petition to consult with the ministry before travelling to South Korea.
Ben-Gvir’s office responded to the report Monday, saying the minister “will continue to clearly state the truth, that we must annihilate Hamas, encourage voluntary emigration of Gazans to other countries, and to resettle Gaza, and he will continue to work to arm [Israeli] civilians with personal firearms, and to form more and more local security teams across Israel.”
“Petitions like this or any other will not deter Minister Ben-Gvir from continuing to say these things or to act on behalf of the people of Israel.”
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