Turkiye has sought an international arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of “genocide” for Israel’s attack in May on activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla for Gaza.
In a post on X on Friday, Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said arrest warrants had been issued on July 14 for Netanyahu and another suspect. Charges included genocide, crimes against humanity and torture, as part of a case against 35 people over the Israeli interception in international waters.
“In line with the arrest warrants issued against Benjamin Netanyahu … our justice ministry has requested that the interior ministry issue [Interpol] red notices for them so that they may be sought internationally,” Gurlek said.
Turkiye will use all available legal mechanisms to ensure Israel is held accountable for its crimes in Gaza, he added.
NATO member Turkiye has been one of the fiercest critics of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and has previously issued domestic arrest warrants for Netanyahu over its attacks.
Turkiye has also repeatedly called for international measures against Israel for what Ankara calls its violations of human rights and international law. Israel denies those charges.
It is all political theatre. Erdoğan has been parading Trump as his best friend and closest ally. I think anyone with a pound of brain can see the contradiction here. So I don’t expect them to carry it through with much vigour.
Not to mention they have been in close trade relations with Israel until recently and only stopped because it came to light. God knows what is still going on behind closed doors.