Turkey said on Friday it would seek an Interpol red notice for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as part of a domestic criminal case over an attack on activists attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea.
Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said in a post on X that arrest warrants had been issued for Netanyahu and one other suspect on charges including genocide, crimes against humanity and torture. The warrants form part of a case against 35 people over the Israeli interception of the vessels in international waters.
“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.
A red notice is a request to police forces worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition. It is not an international arrest warrant, and each member country decides what legal weight to give it.
Gurlek said Turkey would use all legal mechanisms available to hold Israel accountable. “We will not allow the crimes committed in Gaza to be covered up or those responsible to be protected by a shield of impunity,” he said, according to Al Jazeera.
The flotilla interception
In May, Israeli forces opened fire on at least two vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla as it made a renewed attempt to reach Gaza, after earlier missions were intercepted in international waters.
The interception drew international condemnation, and Al Jazeera reported that France, Italy and Australia have also opened judicial proceedings. Sri Lanka was among the countries that raised concerns at the time: activist Sameera Mehboobdeen was detained after the May boarding off Cyprus, prompting Colombo to open talks with Israel before she was deported.
Al Jazeera noted that Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir drew outrage at the time by releasing a video of himself confronting detained flotilla activists — an episode Sri Lanka raised directly after its Foreign Ministry said the footage appeared to show a Sri Lankan national among the detainees.
Israel responds
Netanyahu’s office rejected the move, saying: “[Turkish President] Erdogan’s pathetic attempt to intimidate the leaders and soldiers of Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, will go nowhere.” It accused Erdogan of antisemitism.
Erdogan’s office in turn denounced what it called Netanyahu’s “petty political tactics”.
Turkey, a NATO member, has been among the sharpest critics of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and has previously issued domestic arrest warrants for Netanyahu. Israel denies the accusations against it.
