CAIRO: Prosecutor General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud opened an investigation into a complaint submitted by activists and MPs calling for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Ehud Barak upon entering Egypt. The complaint, filed on June 3, accuses Israeli officials of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Israeli attack on the “Freedom Flotilla,” which left 9 activists dead. Fifty-one activist and MPs signed the complaint including civil rights activist Ibrahim Yousri, Abdel-Halim Qandil, coordinator of the Kefaya movement for change, Hamdi Qandil, journalist and spokesman for the National Association for Change, and opposition and independent MPs Saad Aboud, Gamal Zahran and Hamdin Sabbahi. "The hearing of the activists and MPs' testimonies is scheduled for Saturday," Qandil said. He added that "the decision is a surprise and I don't have any explanation for it." Youssry, who filed the complaint, described the Prosecutor General's decision as a "positive step" and told Daily News Egypt "the decision isn't something new for the Prosecutor General." “He [Prosecutor General] is a man who does his job with integrity and objectivity and implements the law." The complaint cites international laws and conventions regarding the protection of civilians, including the statute of the International Criminal Court, which allows countries to arrest war criminals and paves the way for their trial at specialized international courts.
