Switzerland Says Israeli President Subject of Criminal Complaints at Davos

 18 January 2024, Switzerland, Davos: President of Israel Isaac Herzog speaks at an event during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos. (dpa)
18 January 2024, Switzerland, Davos: President of Israel Isaac Herzog speaks at an event during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos. (dpa)
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Switzerland Says Israeli President Subject of Criminal Complaints at Davos

 18 January 2024, Switzerland, Davos: President of Israel Isaac Herzog speaks at an event during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos. (dpa)
18 January 2024, Switzerland, Davos: President of Israel Isaac Herzog speaks at an event during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2024 in Davos. (dpa)

Swiss prosecutors on Friday confirmed that Israeli President Isaac Herzog had been the subject of criminal complaints during his visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, as Israel finds itself accused of committing war crimes in Gaza.

"The criminal complaints will be examined according to the usual procedure," the Office of the Swiss Attorney General said, adding that it would contact the Swiss foreign ministry to examine the question of immunity of the individual concerned.

In theory, third countries do not hold criminal jurisdiction over current heads of states, heads of governments and foreign ministers of other countries.

The Office of the Swiss Attorney General would not reveal details about the nature and number of the complaints, nor who had lodged them.

A spokesperson for Herzog's office did not comment on the statement by Swiss prosecutors, saying only that Herzog had been to Davos to present Israel's position on the situation in Gaza.

Herzog spoke at the World Economic Forum on Thursday, where he called on the international community to reject genocide allegations against Israel.

Herzog said last week there was "nothing more atrocious and preposterous" than the lawsuit filed by South Africa with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

In making its case, South Africa named Herzog and other Israeli officials it says have expressed genocidal intent against Palestinians.

The Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip launched in the wake of a deadly rampage by Hamas militants in southern Israel on Oct. 7 has displaced most of the enclave's 2.3 million people and caused a grave humanitarian crisis.



Israeli Police Arrest Couple Accused of Spying for Iran

A man walks across a bridge, in front of billboards bearing the flags of the US and Israel with a message in support of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Tel Aviv on October 30, 2024. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
A man walks across a bridge, in front of billboards bearing the flags of the US and Israel with a message in support of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Tel Aviv on October 30, 2024. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
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Israeli Police Arrest Couple Accused of Spying for Iran

A man walks across a bridge, in front of billboards bearing the flags of the US and Israel with a message in support of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Tel Aviv on October 30, 2024. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
A man walks across a bridge, in front of billboards bearing the flags of the US and Israel with a message in support of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, in Tel Aviv on October 30, 2024. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)

Israeli police said Thursday they have arrested a couple accused of spying on Israeli intelligence sites and collecting information on an Israeli academic on behalf of Iran.

Israeli security services say they have uncovered several Iranian spy networks in recent months. The two archenemies have waged a long-running shadow war that has burst into the open since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. They exchanged fire directly for the first time in April and then again this month.

In a statement released Thursday, the police and the Shin Bet internal security agency said that the man arrested, Rafael Guliev, from the central city of Lod, had surveilled Israel’s Mossad spy headquarters for the Iranians and collected information on an academic working at the Institute for National Security Studies, a prominent Israeli think tank. It did not identify the scholar.

The statement said Guliev was also entrusted with finding an assassin, though the statement did not make clear if he had actually done so.
Guliev’s wife, Lala, assisted in the activities, the statement said.