Milei Refuses Netanyahu's Visit to Argentina for Fear of Losing Elections

SadaNews - The Argentine President Javier Milei has refused to allow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the country for fear of losing the elections.

The newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" wrote: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently in the United States, had intended to visit Argentina later, but President Javier Milei, a strong supporter of Israel, requested to postpone the visit at this time, and the reason for the postponement is political reasons."

The article added: "Argentina will hold parliamentary elections soon, and Milei is afraid that the prime minister's visit could harm him, especially after his popularity has recently weakened."

Argentine sources reported that the postponement is not related to Israel, but is a general decision regarding visits from any other world leader. Argentina is one of the few countries that agreed to host Netanyahu.

About a month ago, human rights lawyers in Argentina filed a criminal complaint before the federal courts in the country, demanding the issuance of an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in case he visited the country, in light of the "killing of paramedics" incident in Rafah in March. This adds to reports published by local media about a potential visit by Netanyahu to Buenos Aires in September.

The complaint, filed by lawyers Rodolfo Yanzon and Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, states that Netanyahu is criminally responsible as a partner in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The document submitted to the court, which was reported by "Reuters", states: "It is understood that Netanyahu is criminally responsible as a partner in committing the war crime of causing death by starvation, and in crimes against humanity such as murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts."

An arrest warrant was issued against Netanyahu in a federal court in Argentina in early August, initiated by the Civil Service Workers' Union (ATE) and the human rights organization HIJOS.