A French investigating magistrate has issued summonses to two French-Israeli nationals in relation to “complicity in genocide” over allegations they tried to block the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, French media have reported.
The summonses, which reportedly mark the first time a country has considered the blocking of aid “complicity in genocide”, were issued for Nili Kupfer-Naouri and Rachel Touitou in July, Le Monde and Agence France-Presse reported.
They require Touitou, whose Tsav 9 group obstructed and attacked aid convoys, and Kupfer-Naouri, of Israel is Forever, which supported the actions, to appear before a magistrate, but do not require their arrest.
In 2024 the Biden administration described Tsav 9 as a “violent, extremist” group and imposed sanctions on it for “blocking, harassing and damaging” humanitarian convoys. The sanctions were lifted by the Trump administration.
Israel restricted aid shipments into Gaza during the war, causing widespread hunger and tipping parts of the territory into a human-made famine last summer. Tsav 9 opposed even the limited shipments that entered.
Kupfer-Naouri told the pro-Israel news site the News in an interview on 16 January that she had been summonsed, describing the French investigation as “antisemitic madness” and saying she would “no longer be able to set foot in France”.
She said on social media on Tuesday: “In addition to the military fronts on which our IDF [Israel Defense Forces] soldiers are fighting with bravery, an additional front has opened: that of truth and justice. I am proud to fight on this front! No one will silence me.”
Touitou said the charges were political persecution, and claimed Tsav 9 demonstrations were a non-violent response to Hamas organising mass diversions of humanitarian aid during the war, allegations that are unsubstantiated.
“I will always fight to defend the truth, my people and my country,” she said in a social media post, adding an Israeli flag at the end of her message.
Summonses do not automatically lead to arrest, although people can potentially be detained after interview. They can be issued by investigating magistrates without approval from anti-terrorist prosecutors, who are responsible for genocide cases.
Pro-Israeli French activists were also being investigated for “public incitement to genocide”, sources close to the investigation told AFP, with summonses potentially being issued for about 10 other people.
The initial complaint was filed last year by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights and the Palestinian rights groups Al-Haq and Al Mezan.
Clémence Bectarte, a lawyer for the groups, said the investigation was the first of its kind. Other legal complaints have been filed in France for war crimes, over the deaths of Franco-Palestinian children in Gaza and against two Franco-Israeli soldiers.
“These arrest warrants mark the first judicial recognition that deliberately depriving Palestinians in Gaza of humanitarian aid can constitute complicity in genocide,” Bectarte said.
The French-Palestinian collective Nidal said the summonses showed “the strength of the Franco-Palestinian diaspora, which is building legal resistance in pursuit of the justice it deserves.” It said it was “very pleased” the French justice system had acted.
Marion Lafouge and Damia Taharraoui, two lawyers representing the French Jewish Union for Peace (UJFP), told Le Monde that the summonses “reflect the very serious and real nature of the alleged acts”.
They added: “Complicity in genocide is not an abstract concept: these are concrete and specific actions that are being investigated by [France’s] central office for combating crimes against humanity and hate crimes.”
