WASHINGTON — The Hind Rajab Foundation submitted a request to the US Department of Justice to open criminal proceedings against Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Aryeh King. The organization accused King of involvement in what it describes as a "war crime of illegal population transfer" and incitement to genocide.

King holds Israeli and British citizenship and serves as the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem. The US Department of Justice has not announced that it has opened an investigation into King.

The Hind Rajab Foundation claims King's actions could amount to illegal transfer of protected persons under the Geneva Convention and constitute a war crime under US law. The group alleges that King used his public positions and work with the Israel Land Fund to advance the removal of Palestinians from their homes and the transfer of properties to Jewish ownership in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan.

King founded the Israel Land Fund in 2007.

The Hind Rajab Foundation cited King's 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 foundation included a publication attributed to King showing Palestinian detainees bound and kneeling, with text stating he would order D9 bulldozers to bury them alive. The Hind Rajab Foundation accused King of referring to UNRWA as a Nazi terrorist organization, welcoming the torching of one of its compounds, and calling to "remove, destroy and kill all UNRWA personnel." Jake Rom, the US representative of the Hind Rajab Foundation, called on authorities to arrest, prosecute and punish him. Diab Abu Jajah, CEO of the Hind Rajab Foundation, said that "those involved in dispossession and attempts to destroy a people cannot move freely behind a wall of immunity." The Legal Center for Palestine and the Hind Rajab Foundation filed a complaint with the Canadian federal police’s war crimes investigation unit regarding King.

King rejected the allegations against him. He stated, "I am proud to be a loyal emissary of the Jewish people in Israel and around the world." He said the antisemitic Hind Rajab Foundation has a problem with their very Judaism and the commandments that the Torah ordered them to uphold. He stated 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. He said it goes without saying that he draws 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.

Why It Matters

The Hind Rajab Foundation is the legal arm of the March 30 Movement, a non-profit organization established in 2024 and based in Brussels, Belgium. The request to the US Department of Justice represents a formal effort to invoke US war crimes statutes against a foreign official holding dual citizenship.

The allegations center on activities in East Jerusalem and Gaza, citing specific incidents such as the demolition of a UNRWA compound. The response from King invokes political support from the US government, framing the legal challenge as part of a broader ideological conflict.

Timeline

The Hind Rajab Foundation submitted a request to the US Department of Justice to open criminal proceedings against Jerusalem Deputy Mayor King. On the same day, the Hind Rajab Foundation accused King of involvement in what it describes as a war crime of illegal population transfer and incitement to genocide. King stated, "I am proud to be a loyal emissary of the Jewish people in Israel and around the world." He also stated the antisemitic Hind Rajab Foundation has a problem with their very Judaism and the commandments that the Torah ordered them to uphold. He stated it goes without saying that he draws 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.

What's New

In January 2026, Jerusalem deputy mayor King was present at the demolition of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) compound in East Jerusalem. King described UNRWA as a 'Nazi' organisation and stated that he didn't care what the UN had to say about international law.

The Israel Land Fund was founded by King in 2007.