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BRUSSELS - A group of Palestinians filed a war crimes complaint in a Belgian court Wednesday against 14 top Israeli officials including Defence Minister Ehud Barak, their lawyer said.

The complaint, presented to the Belgian federal prosecutor, seeks charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed during the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip in January 2009, said attorney Georges-Henri Beauthier.

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert, who headed the government at the time, and his foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, are also named in the document along with high-ranking military and intelligence officials.

The prosecutor should decide on the merit of the case by the end of August under Belgium's law of universal jurisdiction, which allows Belgians to file such complaints, Beauthier said.

One of the 14 plaintiffs has Belgian citizenship.

Anouar El Okka, a Belgian doctor of Palestinian origin, claims that his olive grove in Gaza was bombarded and then set of fire with phosphorous by Israeli forces, the attorney said.