Turkey says it has requested Interpol red notices against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of a domestic criminal case related to a violent raid against activists on board the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), a global movement that works to deliver aid to Gaza.
In April, Israeli forces intercepted 22 boats from a
flotilla carrying aid for Gaza in international waters near the Greek island of
Crete.
The following month, about 50 vessels were in the GSF that
left Turkey heading for the besieged Palestinian territory before its activists
were detained in the Mediterranean by the Israeli military and then taken to an
Israeli prison before being expelled.
GSF organisers denounced the action as “piracy”, saying
those on board were seized unlawfully more than 965km (600 miles) from Gaza,
which is under an Israeli naval blockade.
On Friday, Akin Gurlek, Turkish justice minister, said
arrest warrants had been issued for Netanyahu and another Israeli, named as
Afek Moskovitch, “as part of the judicial proceedings concerning the attack in
international waters on the Flotilla activists”.
Netanyahu and Moskovitch are being prosecuted for “crimes
against humanity, genocide, aggravated deprivation of liberty, intentional
assault and battery, torture, destruction of property, aggravated looting, and
hijacking of transport vehicles,” the ministry said.
Responding, Netanyahu’s office said Israel was “unimpressed
by Turkey’s hypocrisy”.
The office described Turkish President Recep Erdogan as an
“antisemitic dictator who massacred Kurds, supports the massacre of the Hamas
terrorist organisation, and oppresses his own people”.
It added that Israel would “continue to act forcefully
against Turkey’s attempts to destabilise the region”.
Erdogan has frequently accused Netanyahu of “genocide”.
The president’s office called the remarks from Netanyahu’s
cabinet “outrageous ravings” and accused the prime minister of “seeking to
evade accountability”.
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