Palestinian NGO files criminal complaint against Israeli minister visiting Davos
The Palestinian legal monitor and advocacy group Al-Haq said on Thursday that it has filed a criminal complaint against Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat, who is currently attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The complaint is an official request to open an investigation.
"Barkat is responsible for unlawful Israeli colonisation of Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel’s actions in Gaza, arguing the army was too lenient during its ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people," Al-Haq said on X.
"During his time as mayor of Jerusalem, Barkat was individually responsible for illegal Israeli settlement related international crimes, including apartheid. He should be investigated for his role in planning, permits, enforcement and demolitions in occupied Jerusalem," the group added.
In his current role, Barkat is responsible for drawing global investment to Israel.
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"Davos cannot be a safe haven for war criminals, where individuals facing serious allegations are granted impunity. Our legal action is grounded in Switzerland’s legal framework allowing prosecution of international crimes when the alleged perpetrator is present in Switzerland."
Barkat responded to the criminal complaint on X, where he wrote: "No terrorist organisation will deter me. I will continue to develop the Israeli economy and represent the country without fear anywhere in the world."
An interview with Barkat published in Foreign Policy Magazine on Thursday began by asking him why hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since the ceasefire came into effect on 10 October.
"I don’t know what information you’re getting, but the Israeli security forces are securing Israel. And if anybody tries to challenge them, they’re risking their life," he responded.
Asked why it was necessary for Israel to demolish the vast majority of the enclave, Barkat said, "You see all the tunnels connecting underground, all preparing to attack Israel, to launch missiles. The only way to take all that infrastructure away is to remove it."
The Jerusalem Post described Barkat last year as someone who sees himself succeeding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
During negotiations towards a ceasefire deal, he repeatedly called for Qatar's removal from mediation efforts.
"Qatar is part of the Muslim Brotherhood, is infused with Iran, and is the world’s greatest funder of terror," he said. "They funded ISIS, Taliban, Hamas, and every other Muslim Brotherhood terror cell in the world. They are a wolf in sheepskin."
Earlier this month, Barkat launched the largest libel lawsuit in Israel's history when he sued the broadcaster Channel 12 after it aired a documentary investigating alleged corrupt practices, including siphoning funds to his personal account and carrying out favours for local businesspeople.
'Coward, immoral, illegal'
In September, the Trump administration sanctioned three prominent Palestinian human rights organisations operating in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, with Al-Haq among them.
The sanctions also targeted the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. The US tied the sanctions to the organisations for asking the International Criminal Court to investigate Israel over its genocide in Gaza, where over 71,550 people have been killed.
The sanctions will freeze any assets the organisations or people working in them have in the US, and also bar them from transacting in US dollars. In addition, the sanctions could have a secondary impact by discouraging non-US entities from engaging with them.
In a joint statement issued shortly after the announcement, the organisations condemned the sanctions, saying, “These measures in times of live genocide against our People, is a coward, immoral, illegal and undemocratic act”.
"As the world moves to impose sanctions and arms embargoes on Israel, its ally, the US, is working to destroy Palestinian institutions working tirelessly for accountability for the victims of Israel's mass atrocity crimes,” Al-Haq said.
“Only states with complete disregard to international law & our shared humanity can take such heinous measures against human rights [organisations] working to end a genocide,” the statement added.
Al-Haq was founded in 1979 and operates in the occupied West Bank. It is one of the oldest Palestinian human rights organisations.
Israel has long tried to silence the group. It labelled Al-Haq a terrorist organisation in October 2021, and the following year, attacked its offices in Ramallah. Soldiers destroyed office equipment and closed the offices.
Israel then sent intelligence "dossiers" to Europe and the US, claiming that Al-Haq had ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a secular, leftist political party with a paramilitary branch.
In a New York Times opinion article published after the raid, Shawan Jabarin, the general director of Al-Haq, said he was “briefly involved in student activities” with the PFLP in the 1980s, then endured decades of Israeli harassment, including eight cumulative years of imprisonment without trial.
Israel never presented evidence to Al-Haq to support its claim that it was tied to the PFLP.
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