Argentine lawyer charges Israeli gov’t & military leaders in heinous crimes.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — An Argentine lawyer said he will file a lawsuit in federal court in Buenos Aires accusing Israel of crimes against humanity and genocide.

Smoke, dust and debris rise over Gaza City after an Israeli strike on August 8, 2014, during the 50-day Israel-Gaza war. – Photo: AP

Carlos Slepoy told Pagina/12, a Buenos Aires newspaper, in an interview published Tuesday that the suit will be filed in the coming days in response to Israel’s 50-day operation in Gaza this summer. The suit is in conjunction with the American Association of Jurists.

The suit singles out specific Israeli leaders as being responsible both directly and non-directly for the alleged crimes, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and Likud MK Moshe Feiglin, according to Pagina/12.

“The disproportionate number of forces and the large number of [Palestinian] victims reveals the huge crime,” said Slepoy. “We will provide to the court a list with names and ages of the Palestinian kids murdered.”

The number of Palestinian civilians killed during this summer’s fighting is a fraught topic, with estimates ranging widely depending on which group is doing the counting.

Slepoy, who successfully opened in Argentina a trial about crimes committed in Spain during the government of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, said he hoped that Gaza victims and human rights groups representing Gazans would join the suit.

In July, the American Association of Jurists issued a statement “strongly condemning the criminal aggression of Israel against Gaza and the occupation of Palestinian territories including East Jerusalem.”

View original HAARETZ publication at: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.616341