Turkey issues ‘genocide’ warrant for PM Netanyahu in Gaza flotilla case
ISTANBUL – Turkey said on Friday (21) it would seek an Interpol red notice for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of a domestic criminal case linked to an attack on activists seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
NATO member Turkey has been one of the fiercest critics of Israel’s assault on Gaza and has previously issued domestic arrest warrants for Netanyahu over the war there. It has repeatedly called for international measures against Israel over what Ankara calls its violations of human rights and international law. Israel denies those charges.
In May, Israeli forces opened fire on at least two vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla sailing towards Gaza as it was making a renewed attempt to deliver aid to the enclave after earlier missions were intercepted by Israel in international waters.
Turkey’s Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said on X that his ministry had asked the interior ministry to issue Interpol red notice alerts for Netanyahu and another Israeli, named as Afek Moskovitch.
As part of the judicial proceedings concerning the attack in international waters on the Flotilla activists (…) and in accordance with the arrest warrants issued on July 14, 2026, against Benjamin Netanyahu and Afek Moskovitch for ‘genocide,’ the Ministry of Justice has requested that the Ministry of the Interior issue red notices for their international arrest,” the minister stated.
Netanyahu and Moskovitch are being prosecuted for “crimes against humanity, genocide, aggravated deprivation of liberty, ‘intentional assault and battery,’ torture, destruction of property, aggravated looting, and hijacking of transport vehicles,” the ministry said.
About 50 vessels were in the Global Sumud Flotilla that left Turkey in May heading for the besieged Palestinian territory. The activists were detained in the Mediterranean by the Israeli military and then taken to an Israeli prison before being expelled.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir caused his own outcry by releasing a video showing himself taunting some of the flotilla activists who were on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs.
Gurlek said Turkey will use all available legal mechanisms to ensure Israel is held accountable for its crimes in Gaza.
A red notice is a request to police forces worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition.
Interpol reviews requests submitted by member states before deciding whether to issue red notices.
Israel Brands Move ‘Pathetic’
Asked about Gurlek’s statement, Netanyahu’s office said: “(Turkish President Tayyip) Erdogan’s pathetic attempt to intimidate the leaders and soldiers of Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, will go nowhere.”
Turkey and Israel also traded barbs this week over Syria, where Israel carried out airstrikes on an air base it said Turkish troops could be deployed to, drawing condemnation from Ankara and criticism from the United States. Syria has said there were no plans to deploy Turkish troops to the base.
Turkey’s influence in Syria as an ally of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has stirred Israeli alarm since Sharaa toppled veteran leader Bashar al-Assad in 2024. Ankara has said Israeli rhetoric against Turkey and its actions in Syria are fuelled by the approach of a parliamentary election in Israel in October.
–Agency
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