France institutes investigations into allegations of complicity in genocide, focusing on impediments to humanitarian aid deliveries in Gaza.
Things are heating up in France as anti-terror prosecutors launch probes into "complicity in genocide" and "incitement to genocide." The investigations center around allegations that French-Israelis hindered aid destined for the besieged Gaza Strip last year.
These investigations mark the first known probes into alleged violations of international law in Gaza. The cases, instigated by legal complaints, also look into potential "complicity in crimes against humanity" that occurred between January and May 2024.
In a separate case, the grandmother of two French children slain in an Israeli strike in Gaza has filed a legal complaint, accusing Israel of "genocide" and "murder." The French judiciary gets involved when French citizens are implicated in such affairs.
The ongoing conflict has been labeled "genocide" by rights groups, lawyers, and some Israeli historians, although Israel vehemently opposes such claims.
The French investigations were triggered by two separate legal complaints. In the first, the Jewish French Union for Peace (UFJP) and a French-Palestinian victim filed a complaint in November, accusing French members of pro-Israel groups "Israel is Forever" and "Tzav-9" of obstructing aid trucks at border checkpoints controlled by the Israeli army.
The UFJP and the victim allege that these groups physically prevented the passage of aid trucks, which ultimately resulted in their blockade. Lawyers for the plaintiffs expressed their satisfaction that an inquiry has been launched into the events that took place in January 2024, a time when few wanted to listen to genocide allegations.
A source close to the case revealed that prosecutors prompted the investigation concerning events at the Nitzana crossing point between Egypt and Israel, as well as the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel into Gaza.
Around this period, hardline Israeli protesters — including friends and relatives of hostages held in Gaza — impeded aid lorries from entering the occupied Palestinian territory and forced them to turn back at Kerem Shalom.
A second complaint from the Lawyers for Justice in the Middle East (Capjo) targeted members of "Israel is Forever" for blocking aid trucks. They supported their claim with photos, videos, and public statements.
In a different case, Ms. Jacqueline Rivault, the grandmother of two children aged six and nine killed in an Israeli strike, lodged a complaint accusing Israel of "genocide" and "murder" with the crimes against humanity section of the Court of Paris. Lawyer Arie Alimi confirmed this development.
Though aimed at unnamed parties, the complaint directly implicates Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli government, and the military. The complaint details how an Israeli missile attack claimed the lives of Janna, six, and Abderrahim Abudaher, nine, in northern Gaza on October 24, 2023.
"We believe these children were killed as part of a deliberate, organized policy targeting the entire Gaza population with a possible genocidal intent," stated Mr. Alimi. The children's brother Omar, then five, was severely injured but still resides in Gaza with their mother, identified as Yasmine Z.
In 2019, a French court tried and convicted Yasmine Z. in absentia of funding a terrorist group, owing to her financial contributions to Palestinian militant groups Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in Gaza.
Famine warnings persist for Gaza's over two-million-strong population due to the persistent blockade, despite Israel easing restrictions it imposed in March. The United Nations reported that the territory remains at risk of famine in late May, despite a US-backed aid group initiating distributions. Reports of Israeli troops killing dozens of Palestinians attempting to collect food have generated widespread criticism.
Israel launched an offensive on Hamas-ruled Gaza in October 2023, which has resulted in the death of over 54,677 people, mostly civilians, according to Gaza's health ministry. These figures have been corroborated by the United Nations.
In a related note, the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants against Mr. Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The case against Deif was dropped in February after Israel claimed to have killed him.
[1] https://www.knesset.gov.il/spage/data/law/eng/04n40b.htm[3] https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/03/25/israel/palestinian-territories-blockade[5] https://www.un.org/rief/disarmament/study/2024/topic/gaza_israel_2024/
- The ongoing war-and-conflicts in Gaza have led to a series of probes into potential complicity in crimes against humanity and genocide, as France investigates allegations of French citizens obstructing aid to Gaza and Israeli strikes against French citizens.
- In the realm of general-news and crime-and-justice, the French judiciary has become involved in several cases, including a legal complaint accusing Israel of genocide and a separate probe into French-Israelis obstructing Gaza aid, indicating an increasing focus on international law violations in these regions.
