ANKARA: Turkiye has announced that it had issued arrest warrants for genocide against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior officials within his government.
According to AFP, among the 37 suspects listed are Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, said a statement from the Istanbul prosecutor’s office, which did not publish the complete list.
Turkey has accused the officials of “genocide and crimes against humanity” that Israel has “perpetrated systematically” in Gaza.
The statement also refers to the “Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital”, built by Turkey in the Gaza Strip and bombed by Israel in March.
Turkey last year joined South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
A fragile ceasefire has been in force in the devastated Palestinian territory since October 10 as part of US President Donald Trump’s regional peace plan.
Israel Slams ‘PR Stunt’ as Hamas Praises Ankara’s Move
Israel denounced the move as a “PR stunt.”
“Israel firmly rejects, with contempt, the latest PR stunt by the tyrant [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan,” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar posted on X.
The Palestinian group Hamas welcomed the announcement, calling it a “commendable measure [confirming] the sincere positions of the Turkish people and their leaders, who are committed to the values of justice, humanity and fraternity that bind them to our oppressed Palestinian people.”
Türkiye’s announcement comes almost one year after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, for alleged “war crimes.”
