DayofPal– Renowned Israel-French lawyer Omer Shatz has formally lodged a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against eight high-ranking Israeli officials, accusing them of inciting genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Shatz contends that genocide is not solely defined by mass killings but can also manifest through the systematic infliction of unbearable living conditions. He cites Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid, deliberate starvation, and relentless targeting of hospitals as methods employed to facilitate this destruction.
Together with his students at Sciences Po in Paris, Shatz meticulously examined public statements made by Israeli political and military figures. Their legal analysis sought to determine whether these remarks constituted direct incitement to genocide. Based on their findings, an official complaint was filed on December 6.
The complaint targets several of Israel’s most senior figures, including: President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Current Defense Minister Israel Katz, Retired General Giora Eiland, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and Television Journalist Zvi Yehezkeli.
Shatz argues that these officials have, through their public rhetoric and policies, explicitly incited acts of genocide against Gaza’s Palestinian population.
This legal move follows the ICC’s landmark decision on November 21, 2024, to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, charging them with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Shatz has urged the ICC prosecutor to act without delay. “He should not wait until everyone in Gaza is dead,” he stated in an interview with Anadolu Agency.
His complaint also responds to Israel’s persistent refusal to investigate its own officials. Despite the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling in January 2024, which found a plausible risk of genocide, the Israeli government has adamantly dismissed calls for accountability.
For Shatz, this legal battle is both a professional and moral imperative. “I see Israeli lawyers afraid to speak out about Gaza,” he remarked. “As a Jew, I feel obligated to do this.”
A former resident of Israel, Shatz left the country in 2014 after losing a legal case against Gallant. At the time, he opposed Gallant’s appointment as army chief due to the lack of an investigation into alleged war crimes committed during the 2008 Gaza war.
Now, a decade later, he believes his warnings have been tragically vindicated. “I told the judges, within ten years, there will be a genocide,” he recalled. Today, he demands immediate action before history records yet another failure of justice.
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