Turkey on Friday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and dozens of other Israeli officials on charges of “genocide.”
The Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had issued warrants against 37 people. In addition to Prime Minister Netanyahu, the warrants also target Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, and military commander Eyal Zamir.
Prosecutors said the warrants accuse Israeli officials of “crimes against humanity” and “genocide” in the Gaza Strip, as well as against convoys transporting aid to the enclave. The convoy was seized by Israeli authorities last month.
Israel quickly denounced and rejected the warrant.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the move a “PR stunt” by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“In Erdogan’s Turkey, the judiciary has long become a tool for silencing political opponents and detaining journalists, judges and mayors,” Saar said in a social media post, referring to the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, earlier this year. Imammoğlu, Erdogan’s main rival, was arrested in March as part of a corruption and terrorism investigation.
Hamas welcomed the warrant, saying the move “confirms the noble position of the Turkish people and its leaders.”
Turkey’s warrant has raised questions about what role Turkey will play in the multinational security forces in the Gaza Strip to uphold the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement.
Earlier this week, several Muslim-majority countries met in Istanbul to discuss the International Stability Force (ISF) in Gaza, a key part of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan. The temporary force will train a new Palestinian police force and contribute to stabilizing the enclave.
U.S. officials have cited Turkey, which played a key role in securing a ceasefire agreement with Hamas, as a potential participant. It is also unclear what role Turkey will play in the force, but Israel has made it clear that it will counter Turkish forces in the Gaza Strip.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said Israel must finally agree to the presence of foreign troops in Gaza.
Turkey’s warrant against Prime Minister Netanyahu and other officials was issued nearly a year after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant accusing Israeli leaders of war crimes. The Prime Minister’s Office had dismissed the ICC’s warrant as “absurd and anti-Semitic”.
