Lawyers representing the Palestinians file a criminal complaint against the chancellor and other top politicians, accusing them of complicity in the “genocide.”
Berlin Germany – A group of lawyers has filed a criminal complaint with the German federal prosecutor against senior German politicians, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz, accusing them of “aiding and abetting” the genocide they say Israel is committing in Gaza.
The case was filed Friday against several members of the country's Federal Security Council, which directs national security policy and authorizes arms exports.
In addition to Scholz, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Economy Minister Robert Habeck, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and others are accused.
The lawyers behind the case represent the families of two Palestinians with roots in the Gaza Strip, including that of Palestinian-German migration specialist Nora Ragab.
“We Palestinians in the diaspora will not stand by and watch genocide being committed against our families and our people,” Ragab said in a statement. “We will use all the means at our disposal. … Today our goal is to hold the German government accountable for its complicity in the genocide in Gaza.”
The European Legal Support Centre, the Palestinian Institute for Public Diplomacy and UK-based Law for Palestine are among the civil society organizations supporting the case.
In a jointly written statement, they said: “The German state is one of the countries that has shown some of the strongest political and material support for Israel in its attack on the Gaza Strip and the Palestinians.”
Alexander Gorski, one of the lawyers supporting the case, acknowledged that “from a legal point of view and given the political landscape in Germany, this case will be difficult.”
“But we think it's our responsibility as people who work in the justice sector to try to do something,” he told Al Jazeera. “We are watching a genocide broadcast live around the world and yet the Israeli government continues to receive support from other countries and continues to receive weapons from them.”
After the Hamas attacks of October 7, during which 1,139 people were killed in southern Israel, the Israeli government retaliated with a military campaign in Gaza that to date has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians, most of them Women and children.
Israel has said it wants to crush Hamas, which rules the densely populated strip, but after four months of war, the devastating civilian toll is causing alarm among world leaders.
In late January, the United Nations' highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), found it “plausible” that Israel was committing acts in Gaza that violated the international Genocide Convention.
Since the court's decision, Germany and all other third states should have tried to prevent Israel from committing such acts, the lawyers behind Friday's case said.
However, since October, many German officials have “incited” the genocide with their statements, they alleged.
The legal case will also focus on German arms exports to Israel.
These increased significantly in 2023, compared to the previous year, and most of that increase was approved by the German government after October 7.
Despite the ICJ ruling, Germany “has already agreed in principle” to send more tank ammunition to Israel, they said.
