A complaint has been filed against Haim Korsia, France's chief rabbi, on claims he was "apologizing for war crimes" after he said Israel's military needed to "finish the job" of defeating Hamas in Gaza.
French MP Aymeric Caron confirmed he has filed a complaint to prosecutors in Paris against Korsia, reports The Daily Mail Wednesday. The offense is punishable in France with up to five years in prison and a fine equivalent to $58,200 in U.S. dollars.
Korsia, 60, came under fire when he said in a television interview Monday that he has "absolutely no reason to be ashamed of what Israel is doing in the way it conducts the fighting" in Gaza and that he is "not uncomfortable with a policy that consists of defending its nationals."
"Everybody would be very happy if Israel finished the job, and we could finally build peace in the Middle East without people who only want one thing all the time — the destruction of Israel," he added.
Prosecutors said they are examining the evidence following Caron's complaint, including video images, before moving forward with charges.
Korsia, a former chaplain for the French Army, has not commented on the complaint.
But in his interview, he said the Palestinians who have been harmed in the violence between Israel and Hamas were made victims "by an act of war that is the responsibility of Hamas who refuses all proposals to stop the fighting."
According to officials, more than 40,000 Palestinians have died and thousands have been wounded in Gaza and the West Bank in the months since the Hamas attack last Oct. 7, when 1,200 Israelis died and hundreds were taken hostage.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened a war crimes investigation into the growing deaths of women and children in Gaza. It issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in May, charging them with "war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the State of Palestine."
They are charged with willful killing, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, and "extermination, including in the context of deaths caused by starvation."
Korsia has been reporting increased incidents of antisemitism in France, especially actions connected with the Gaza war.