French left-wing MP files complaint against chief rabbi of France over remarks on Gaza

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – A left-wing member of the French parliament filed a complaint against the country's chief rabbi for remarks on Gaza that apparently supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war policy.

Aymeric Caron of France Unbowed (La France Insoumise or LFI) party announced Tuesday on X that he has filed a complaint against Haim Korsia for "publicly promoting war crimes committed in Gaza."

"The massacres in Gaza are acts of war…" Korsia told BFMTV during a live interview on Monday, adding that he has "absolutely nothing to blush about in Israel's actions.”

When asked if he is uncomfortable with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Gaza policy, the chief rabbi replied, "I am never uncomfortable with a policy that is based on defending its nationals."

"Everybody would be happy that Israel finishes the job, and that finally peace can be built in the Middle East without people who permanently want one thing only, the destruction of Israel," he added.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last October by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

More than 40,500 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 92,700 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly 11 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.