In a statement, the Public Prosecutor’s Office said warrants were issued for 37 suspects, including Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz. The suspects face charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
ISTANBUL — Turkey announced on Friday that it had issued arrest warrants for genocide against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior officials within his government over committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the Public Prosecutor’s Office said warrants were issued for 37 suspects, including Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz. The suspects face charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
The statement stressed that Israeli authorities face charges of carrying out genocide, conducting massive airstrikes on Gaza, and obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid.
This move comes months after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on November 21, 2024, for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The ICC stated that they committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
As a result, Netanyahu and Gallant are now unable to visit any of the 120 countries that have signed the Rome Statute, the treaty that underpins the ICC’s authority to enforce such decisions.
The latest Turkish decision follows a call in mid-September by ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan to expedite arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. Khan revealed at the time that he had faced pressure from several world leaders not to proceed with the arrest request.
The Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office described the move as a response to growing evidence of mass atrocities in Gaza, where Israeli forces have conducted months of heavy bombardment, resulting in tens of thousands of civilian deaths and a deepening humanitarian catastrophe. — With inputs from QNN
