The Public Prosecution in Paris announced yesterday, Monday, the filing of a complaint filed by the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar against French General Philippe Sidus, accusing him of “glorifying a war crime,” in light of his statements regarding the killing of a journalist in Lebanon in April, according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse. Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil (42 years old), who was working as a field correspondent for Al-Akhbar newspaper, was killed, and her colleague, freelance photographer Zainab Faraj, was injured on April 22, as a result of an Israeli raid that targeted a house in which they took shelter in the town of Al-Tiri in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces are still occupying several areas. In late April, General Sidus, who previously headed the liaison office of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), said, “(Al-Akhbar) is a newspaper close to (Hezbollah). The Israelis are accustomed to saying that journalists who work with Hezbollah are spies working for Hezbollah. Therefore, here the targeting was deliberate.” The officer continued: “From the moment the name of the newspaper is mentioned, it becomes a deliberate targeting. This is clear, frank and precise. Today I looked a little at Al-Akhbar newspaper. Yes, it is very biased towards Hezbollah.” The Public Prosecution considered that “simply confirming that the journalist was deliberately targeted, and ruling out the possibility of error on the part of the Israeli army, is not sufficient in itself to consider this as glorifying a war crime, in the absence of justification for the aforementioned shooting or presenting it in a positive manner.” The newspaper’s defense agent, Vincent Brengar, said in a statement to Agence France-Presse: “We challenge the Public Prosecution’s analysis.” He considered that filing the complaint “confirms the existence of blatant double standards.” On the one hand, there is the criminalization of pro-Palestinian voices, and on the other hand, there is a scandalous weakness in prosecuting those who justify or encourage crimes committed by Israel. He continued: “Continued tolerance of this defect only leads to perpetuating the logic of impunity.” In late April, the BFMTV Journalists Association announced its “complete disavowal” of these “shocking statements,” recalling that “targeting a journalist, as well as a civilian, is a war crime.” She considered that “it is unacceptable for some experts to appear on air as if they are justifying exposing journalists to danger or even killing them.” “This also undermines the security of our journalists on the ground.” In late April, the Lebanese authorities accused Israel of committing a “war crime” by obstructing the efforts of ambulance crews to rescue Khalil for hours, which prevented her from being pulled alive from under the rubble. At the time, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stressed “the need to enable journalists to perform their basic duties without fear of interference, harassment, or worse.” In early August, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the Legal Agenda published the results of separate investigations into Khalil’s killing, which concluded that the attack involved a “war crime.”