Türkiye will seek an Interpol red notice for Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu over a domestic criminal case linked to Israel’s interception of activists attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
An Interpol red notice is a request to law enforcement agencies in member countries to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition. Interpol reviews requests from member states before deciding whether to issue a notice.
As per the details, Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said that arrest warrants had been issued for Netanyahu and another suspect on charges including genocide, crimes against humanity and torture. The warrants are part of an investigation involving 35 people over the interception of the aid flotilla in international waters.
In a post on X, Gurlek said that the Justice Ministry had asked the Interior Ministry to request Interpol red notices for Netanyahu and the other suspect.
“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.
He added that Türkiye would use all available legal mechanisms to hold Israel accountable for what Ankara considers crimes in Gaza.
Türkiye, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) member, has been a critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and has previously issued domestic arrest warrants for Netanyahu over the war. Ankara has also called for international action against Israel over alleged violations of human rights and international law.
In May, Israeli forces opened fire on at least two vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla as it sailed towards Gaza in an attempt to deliver aid. Earlier missions by the flotilla had also been intercepted by Israel in international waters.
Netanyahu’s office responded by accusing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of seeking to extend what it described as aggression against Israel into Syria.
“Erdogan’s pathetic attempt to intimidate the leaders and soldiers of Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, will go nowhere,” the statement said.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) also accused Erdogan of being “an antisemitic dictator who has massacred Kurds, harbours Hamas terrorists, occupies half of Cyprus and jails record numbers of journalists and politicians who oppose him”.
In a separate statement, Netanyahu’s office said that Israel would continue to act against what it described as Türkiye’s attempts to destabilise the region and threats to its security.
