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Turkey announced Friday it has issued arrest warrants for 37 senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Navy Commander David Salama, accusing them of “genocide in Gaza.” The warrants were requested by the Istanbul Bar Association, which claimed Israel continues to commit “war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide against civilians, women and children in Gaza — despite cease-fire agreements.” The move is largely symbolic, as Israeli officials do not travel to Turkey and flights between the two countries have already been restricted. Attorney Yasin Şamlı, head of the Istanbul Bar Association, said at a press conference outside a local court that “Israel is not just a threat to Palestinians but to all of humanity,” accusing Jerusalem of attacking “Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Iran, Qatar, Yemen, Iraq, Malta and Egypt” in the past two years. Şamlı said the complaint includes references to incidents such as the death of six-year-old Hind Rajab, the strike on the Turkish-Palestinian hospital, and the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in April 2024. He also cited the October 2023 explosion at Gaza’s Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital, which Israel attributed to a failed Islamic Jihad rocket launch. He stressed that under Turkish law, “war crimes and genocide are offenses that can be prosecuted locally, even against foreign citizens, and they do not expire.” Israel calls Erdogan’s move 'a political stunt' Israeli officials dismissed the Turkish decision as political theater. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel “completely rejects this latest PR stunt from dictator Erdogan.” The announcement comes as Ankara seeks to position itself as part of the “day after” reconstruction process in Gaza, despite Israel’s objections to any Turkish involvement. Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem said that while Turkey is unlikely to contribute troops to a stabilization force, Israel may not be able to block Turkish participation in reconstruction efforts or investments in Gaza. Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of Yisrael Beytenu, said the move proves “why Turkey must not be involved in Gaza — directly or indirectly.” The warrants mark a new low in Israeli-Turkish relations, which have deteriorated sharply since the outbreak of the Gaza war, with Ankara increasingly seeking to lead legal and diplomatic campaigns against Israel on the world stage.
