The Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s office confirmed that a criminal complaint has been filed against Israeli President Isaac Herzog. The revelation came during the Israeli President’s participation in the World Economic Forum 2024 (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland.
While Swiss authorities have abstained from providing additional information regarding the filing party or the specific nature of charges, Keystone-SDA, a Swiss media outlet suggests that the group “Legal Action Against Crimes Against Humanity” is behind the complaint. The group stated, “We are convinced that Switzerland has an obligation to conduct an investigation.”
During his participation in WEF, President Herzog voiced Israel’s firm stance against Hamas and discussed the recent genocide allegations against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Herzog appealed to the international community to disregard these accusations and called for the release of Israeli hostages detained by Hamas.
These allegations stemmed from a legal proceeding initiated by South Africa in December 2023, as it formally accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza at the ICJ. The South African authorities argued that Israel breached the UN Genocide Convention through their actions after the October 7, 2023, attacks, which they interpreted as “genocidal in character.”
Reacting to the charges and the subsequent complaint, a spokesperson for President Herzog was cited by The Times of Israel, saying, “the president of the State of Israel participated in the World Economic Forum as planned and represented the position of the State of Israel and the importance and justness of the struggle to secure the release of the hostages.”