Turkey issues international arrest warrants against Netanyahu
Tensions between Turkey and Israel have entered a new phase of sharp escalation, following continued Israeli violations in Gaza and the policy of expanding the aggression to Syria and southern Lebanon, with both sides exchanging accusations of destabilizing the Middle East region.
In the latest chapter of this tension, which coincided with the crisis between Ankara and Tel Aviv over Israel’s intensive airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur military airport in Idlib, northwestern Syria—under the pretext of preparing to deploy Turkish forces at an airbase within the airport—Turkey issued an international arrest warrant on Friday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and another Israeli citizen, on charges of genocide. This action is part of an investigation into Israel’s interception of the “Flotilla of Resistance” bound for the Gaza Strip last May, and the detention of activists aboard it.
In response, Netanyahu’s office described the Turkish president as an “anti-Semitic dictator” in a statement on Friday, accusing him of committing massacres against Kurds.
Turkish Justice Minister Akin Kirisci stated on his X account that “in the context of judicial proceedings related to the attack on flotilla activists in international waters… and based on the arrest warrants issued on July 14 against Benjamin Netanyahu and Ofek Moskovich on charges of genocide, the Ministry of Justice has requested the Ministry of Interior to issue Red Notices for their arrest at the international level.”
Netanyahu and Moskovich are being pursued in Turkey for alleged “crimes against humanity, genocide, severe deprivation of liberty, intentional beating and wounding, torture, destruction of property, aggravated theft, and hijacking of transport vehicles,” according to the Justice Ministry.
Last May, the Israeli military detained more than 430 activists aboard approximately 50 vessels in the Mediterranean Sea, as part of the “Flotilla of Resistance” initiative launched from Turkey to highlight the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, devastated by over two years of war between Israel and Hamas, by breaking the Israeli naval blockade. The vessels were intercepted in international waters west of the Cyprian coast, and the activists were taken by the military to Ketziot Prison in southern Israel before being deported to their home countries.
Israel had previously intercepted a flotilla heading to Gaza in April, off the coast of Greece. Israeli far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir sparked widespread condemnation both domestically and internationally after releasing a video showing activists kneeling with their hands bound following their arrest at sea.
