Turkish Lawyers Want ICC to Charge Netanyahu with Gaza Genocide

By Staff, Agencies

Two Turkish lawyers and a former lawmaker have petitioned the government in Ankara to seek genocide and war crimes charges against “Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the “Israeli” entity’s conduct in Gaza. The request is expected to reach the International Criminal Court, which neither Turkey nor the apartheid “Israeli” entity recognizes.

Metin Kulunk, a former member of parliament from the ruling Justice and Development Party [AKP], teamed up with attorneys Mucahit Birinci and Burak Bekiroglu and sent the 23-page lawsuit to the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday.

“Today, representing the conscience of the citizens of the Republic of Turkey, we filed a lawsuit at the International Criminal Court in The Hague against the 21^st century Hitler, ‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Netanyahu, who must stand trial for the genocide he committed in the Gaza Strip and all crimes against humanity,” Kulunk wrote on X [formerly Twitter], accompanied by the cover page of the lawsuit.

“May God be with our Palestinian brothers and those who defend their just cause to the extent of their strength,” Birinci posted on X.

Bekiroglu told TASS that the Istanbul office has already forwarded the case to the Turkish Justice Ministry and will send a hard copy to The Hague, where it should arrive “no later than next week.”

The Turkish trio has joined a growing international push to prosecute the “Israeli” leader over the month-long aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip, which has claimed at least 11,000 Palestinian lives, according to the local authorities. Netanyahu vowed to destroy Hamas after the Palestinian resistance group’s October 7 Operation Al-Aqsa Flood after which some 1,200 “Israeli” settlers died and 200 others being captives.

Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday that “Israeli” attacks on hospitals and other healthcare infrastructure in Gaza amount to war crimes and should be investigated by the ICC. Earlier this month, Algeria filed a case against the “Israeli” entity before the ICC, which Colombia joined. Three Palestinian human rights NGOs have done so as well.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the apartheid “Israeli” entity of war crimes at a political rally last month, but has not followed through on those words.

Turkey cannot officially file lawsuits before the ICC, as it never ratified the Rome Statute that established the court. According to Turkish media, government bodies and NGOs can “inform the prosecutor’s office” of crimes and ask for an investigation, however.

The “Israeli” entity had signed the Rome Statute but withdrew in 2022. The ICC has claimed jurisdiction over Gaza and the West Bank, however, as the UN considers them Palestinian territories under “Israeli” occupation since 1967.

The “Israeli” army has denied the allegations of war crimes, insisting that it is taking measures to avoid civilian casualties.