AnkaraTurkey on Wednesday filed a request with a United Nations court to join South Africa in its lawsuit against Israel for genocide, Turkey’s foreign minister announced.
The Turkish ambassador to the Netherlands, accompanied by a group of Turkish lawmakers, submitted the statement of intervention to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
Turkey, one of the nations most critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, is the latest to try to join the process.
“No country in the world is above international law,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said in a post on X. “The case at the International Court of Justice is extremely important to ensure that crimes committed by Israel do not go unpunished.”
Photo Europa Press
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the country of genocide, called for it to be punished by international courts and criticised Western countries for their support of Israel.
In May, Turkey suspended trade with Israel citing its attack on Gaza. Unlike Western nations that designated Hamas a terrorist organization, Erdogan praised the militant group, calling it a liberation movement.
South Africa filed a complaint with the ICJ late last year accusing Israel of violating the genocide convention with its military campaign in Gaza.
Israel has strongly rejected the accusations, saying the war in Gaza is an act of self-defense against Hamas insurgents over their Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people and took 250 hostage.
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– 2024-08-14 07:28:13
