Will Germany arrest Ehud Olmert for Gaza war crimes?

On 5 November 2025, the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) filed a war crimes complaint in Germany against former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The case targets alleged crimes committed during Israel’s 2008–2009 assault on Gaza, known as Operation Cast Lead. The complaint, submitted by German lawyer Melanie Schweizer, invokes Germany’s Code of Crimes against International Law (VStGB). The law allows prosecution of war crimes regardless of where they occurred or who committed them.

HRF seeking arrest of Ehud Olmert for IOF war crimes during Operation Cast Lead

The complaint was filed with both the Berlin General Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Prosecutor General in Karlsruhe. It comes as Olmert prepares to speak at the Haaretz Democracy Conference in Berlin. HRF is calling for urgent action: an investigation, an arrest warrant, and a European Arrest Warrant to stop Olmert from leaving the country.

Operation Cast Lead was a 22-day Israeli military campaign between December 2008 and January 2009. Israel claimed it wanted to halt Hamas rocket fire. In reality, the scale of destruction drew global outrage. Human rights groups described it as one of Israel’s most devastating assaults on Gaza in decades. Most of the victims were civilians. UN and NGO reports accused Israeli forces of indiscriminate shelling and violations of humanitarian law. These findings now form the core of HRF’s new legal case.

The Responsibility of Ehud Olmert

HRF says Ehud Olmert, Israel’s Prime Minister from 2006 to 2009, held ultimate authority over the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). It argues he bears full responsibility for actions under his command. During his leadership, Israeli forces bombed densely populated areas. More than 1,300 Palestinians were killed, including 300 children and 115 women. Over 5,000 were injured, and tens of thousands of homes were destroyed.

The complaint draws on several major investigations, including the UN’s Goldstone Report and Amnesty International’s Operation Cast Lead: 22 Days of Death and Destruction. It also cites Human Rights Watch’s Rain of Fire report. These studies document the targeting of civilians and the use of white phosphorus in crowded areas. They also show the destruction of schools, mosques, and other civilian sites. HRF argues Olmert failed to prevent or punish those responsible, making him complicit in war crimes.

War crimes yet again by the Israeli occupation

The complaint outlines multiple breaches of humanitarian law. It lists attacks on civilians and public infrastructure, the use of white phosphorus in Tel al-Hawa, Khuza’a, and Beit Lahiya, and the destruction of UN schools in Jabalya and Al-Fakhoura. The complaint documents the killing of civilians waving white flags, including members of the Al-Samouni family in Gaza’s Zeitoun district. It also cites the obstruction of medical aid and the targeting of water, power, and food facilities vital for survival. HRF says these actions amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity under German and international law.

HRF adds that these acts meet the legal definitions of war crimes and crimes against humanity under both international and German law. The complaint references the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, reflected in Germany’s VStGB.

Universal jurisdiction and the demand for accountability

Germany’s universal jurisdiction law, adopted in 2002, has already been used to prosecute Syrian officials. HRF says it must now be applied equally to Israeli officials accused of war crimes. By filing the case in Germany, HRF hopes to pierce what it calls a “culture of impunity” around Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

Dyab Abou Jahjah, Director of the Hind Rajab Foundation, said Gaza’s victims deserve justice no matter how much time has passed. He stressed that accountability must be both timeless and universal. “No one accused of these types of atrocities,” he said, “should be allowed to appear freely in European public forums.” The Foundation pledged to keep pursuing legal action until justice is achieved for Gaza’s civilian victims.

Featured image via Carlos Lattuf / WikimediaCommons