Türkiye issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu for genocide

Tel Aviv calls the move a “political maneuver.” On social media, the Foreign Minister said he rejected the attitude and criticized President Erdogan’s government. “The judiciary has long become a tool for silencing political rivals and detaining journalists, judges and mayors. Israel vehemently rejects, with contempt, the tyrant Erdogan’s latest public relations maneuver,” wrote Gideon Saar.

Statement also cited the bombing of the “Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, built by Turkey in the Gaza Strip and destroyed in the war, according to The Guardian newspaper. The place specialized in cancer treatment. The Israel Defense Force said at the time that the site was used as a Hamas command center. The two-year war left around 67,000 Palestinians dead.

Last year, Turkey joined South Africa in accusing Israel of genocide. The request was made to the International Criminal Court.

Erdogan is one of Netanyahu’s fiercest critics and has already compared him to Hitler for the deaths of Jews and Palestinians. In 2023, he accused the prime minister of being a war criminal and said he should pay for the crimes he committed in Gaza.

Peace agreement began on October 10, but has been violated several times. Since then, Israel has asserted that Hamas is not complying with ceasefire demands, either by failing to hand over the bodies of dead hostages or allegedly attacking military personnel, which Hamas denies.