Can Switzerland arrest Israeli President Herzog?

Swiss prosecutors confirmed on Friday that they had received criminal complaints against Israeli President Isaac Herzog during his visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, at a time when the Israeli occupation state faces charges of committing war crimes in Gaza.

“Criminal complaints will be examined according to usual procedures,” the Swiss Attorney General’s Office said, adding that it would contact the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs to examine the issue of the immunity of the person concerned.

The Swiss Attorney General's Office did not reveal details about the nature and number of complaints, nor who filed them, but a statement purporting to be issued by the people behind the complaint, titled “Legal Action Against Crimes Against Humanity,” said several unnamed individuals They filed criminal complaints against the head of the occupying state of Israel to federal prosecutors and authorities in Basel, Bern and Zurich.

This group is seeking a criminal trial in parallel with the case brought by South Africa before the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

This complaint faces a dilemma, which is that Herzog enjoys immunity as the president of Israel, but the group that filed the lawsuit indicates the possibility of lifting immunity in certain circumstances, including in cases of crimes against humanity, and this group considers that these conditions are met in this case.

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