Human rights lawyers call for Netanyahu’s arrest on Argentine soil

Human rights lawyers said on Friday they have filed a criminal complaint in Argentina’s federal courts seeking the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he sets foot in the country, amid reports of a possible visit in September that remains unconfirmed.

The criminal complaint filed in Argentina federal courts calls for Netanyahu’s arrest in the country and an investigation into the Israeli political and military authorities for an incident on March 23 in which 15 people were executed, among them several first responders helping victims of a bombing, according to the complaint reviewed by Reuters.

Netanyahu is expected to visit Argentina in September, according to media reports, but the government has not confirmed the visit.

Argentina newspaper Clarin reports that Netanyahu may instead request a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei while both leaders are in New York for the United Nations General Assembly at the end of September.

“It is understood that Netanyahu is criminally responsible as a co-perpetrator of the war crime of intentionally causing death by starvation; of crimes against humanity such as homicide, persecution, and other inhumane acts,” says the complaint, which was filed by Argentine human rights attorney Rodolfo Yanzon and Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

An arrest warrant for Netanyahu had already been filed in Argentine federal courts in early August by the Association of State Workers (ATE) and the human rights group HIJOS.