US Pro-Palestinian groups push to open criminal proceedings against Jerusalem Deputy Mayor

ByYOAV ETIELAUGUST 25, 2026 22:00Updated: AUGUST 25, 2026 22:09The Hind Rajab Foundation announced on Tuesday that it had submitted a request to the US Justice Department (DOJ) to open criminal proceedings against Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Aryeh King, accusing him of involvement in what the organization describes as a “war crime of illegal population transfer” and “incitement to genocide.”The request was submitted ahead of King’s expected arrival in the United States next week for a fundraising tour on behalf of the Israel Land Fund, which he founded. According to reports by opponents of the visit, King is expected to travel to the US after visiting Canada, where events have been scheduled for him in Toronto and Montreal.The Legal Center for Palestine, together with the Hind Rajab Foundation, also filed a complaint with the Canadian federal police’s war crimes investigation unit over the past 24 hours.King, who holds Israeli and British citizenship, is one of the prominent figures involved in Jewish settlement efforts in East Jerusalem. The foundation alleges that he has used his public positions and his work with the Israel Land Fund to advance the removal of Palestinians from their homes and the transfer of properties to Jewish ownership, including in the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighborhoods.The organization claims that these actions could amount to “illegal transfer of protected persons” under the Geneva Convention and therefore could also constitute a war crime under US law.A US Justice Department logo or seal showing Justice Department headquarters, known as ''Main Justice,'' is seen behind the podium in the Department's headquarters briefing room before a news conference with the Attorney General in Washington, January 24, 2023. (credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS)A central part of the complaint focuses on statements King made during the war. The foundation cited his calls to halt aid to the Gaza Strip, his support for protesters who blocked aid trucks, and statements attributed to him calling for the expulsion of Gaza residents and the destruction of its cities.The complaint also includes a publication attributed to King that showed Palestinian detainees bound and kneeling on the ground. Alongside the image, he allegedly wrote that if it were up to him, he would order D9 bulldozers to bury them alive. The post was later removed.King referred to UNRWA as 'Nazi terrorist organization,' Hind Rajab Foundation claimsThe foundation also accused King of “prolonged incitement against UNRWA.” According to the organization, he referred to the UN agency as a “Nazi terrorist organization,” welcomed the torching of one of its compounds, and called “to remove, destroy and kill all UNRWA personnel.” The organization linked those statements to King’s efforts to shut down UNRWA institutions in East Jerusalem.The foundation’s US representative, Jake Rom, called on authorities to “arrest, prosecute and punish him.” The foundation’s CEO, Diab Abu Jajah, said that “those involved in dispossession and attempts to destroy a people cannot move freely behind a wall of immunity.”The request is currently a unilateral action by the organization seeking to open proceedings against King, and does not represent an indictment or an arrest warrant. The DOJ has not announced that it has opened an investigation into King, and there is no indication that US authorities have adopted the factual claims or legal interpretation presented by the foundation.King rejects allegations, says he is 'proud to be a loyal emissary' of Jews across the worldKing rejected the allegations against him, telling Walla that he is “proud to be a loyal emissary of the Jewish people in Israel and around the world.""The antisemitic Hind Rajab Foundation has a problem with our very Judaism and the commandments that the Torah ordered us to uphold," he said. "This foundation is an extremist Muslim arm that sees Jews and the State of Israel as an obstacle on Islam’s path to taking control of centers of power around the world, and this has been Muslim culture since its founding by Muhammad. This foundation is antisemitism under the guise of human rights activity.”“It goes without saying that I draw inspiration from the current US administration, which supports the Jewish settlement enterprise in East Jerusalem and supports removing UNRWA from operating in Jerusalem, and which even froze the funding that the US provided for years to the Nazi terrorist organization that waves the UNRWA flag,” King added.Follow us on Google