A former Israeli diplomat and senior advisor to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to appear in court over his latest comments about the Tel Aviv regime’s bloody war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
According to Australian investigative journalist Peter Cronau, opening statements have been heard at the private prosecution of Mark Regev at a court in Melbourne.
“Regev is being charged with Advocacy for Genocide, section 80.2D of the Australian Criminal Code, for public comments advocating for Genocide of the Palestinian people” during an interview with Australia’s public broadcaster ABC Radio earlier this month, Cronau wrote in a post published on his X account on Monday.
He noted that the former Israeli diplomat’s remarks inciting genocide by advocating starvation to be inflicted on the residents of Gaza were made on October 10.
Cronau further said that Regev was served in the Israeli-occupied territories a few weeks ago with the charge sheet and summons.
The case against Netanyahu’s former senior advisor was filed by Aboriginal Australian activist Robbie Thorpe and lawyer Daniel Taylor.
This comes as Palestinian medical sources in the Gaza Strip say at least 26 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on the besieged coastal territory since the start of the day.
Among the fatalities, 18 Palestinians were in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, where Israeli forces have been carrying out intense bombardment and ground assault for the last 17 years.
An estimated 400,000 Palestinians are trapped in the northern Gaza Strip, and it is believed that 500 people have been killed as a result of the Israeli siege of the area. Residents say they have been cut off from supplies of food and water.
The UN Human Rights Office says it is concerned Israel “may be causing the destruction of the Palestinian population in Gaza’s northernmost governorate through death and displacement”.