Their lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, alleges a money laundering scheme that involves the US defendants raising charitable donations to send to Israeli government leaders.
Based on the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Alien Torts Statute, the complaint alleges that the Israeli officials use the money to fund settlements and violent extremism in the occupied West Bank, which the complaint identifies as “international terrorism.”
It comes as Netanyahu vowed that Israel would soon build an entirely new settlement in the occupied West Bank. Since Trump took office last month, Israel has announced plans for 6,000 additional settler housing units.
Israel’s current and former defense ministers Avigdor Lieberman and Ehud Barak are named as defendants, as is former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, who recently evaded a war crimes summons from Belgian prosecutors.
The lawsuit also names the family foundation of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and now his adviser on the Middle East and Israel.
Other defendants are David Friedman and his charity, American Friends of Beit El Yeshiva Center. Friedman, Trump’s ambassador-designate to Israel, is a major fundraiser for Israeli settlements.
