Politics Turkey applies to join genocide case against Israel
Turkey is joining a genocide lawsuit brought against Israel by South Africa. A corresponding application was submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by a delegation in The Hague.
07.08.2024, 16:52
SDA
This was announced by Numan Kurtulmus, Speaker of the Turkish Parliament, on Platform X. Turkey had already announced the move in May.
Kurtulmus called the application a "historic step for the Palestinian cause." Turkey will continue its work to ensure that Israel is indicted for the crime of genocide in international courts and punished in the most severe way for the crimes committed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and "his gang".
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who maintains good relations with Hamas, has repeatedly criticized the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip. He also accuses Israel of "genocide" against the Palestinians. Israel denies the genocide accusations. Against this backdrop, relations between the two countries are currently very tense.
South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel at the end of 2023, accusing the country of violating the Genocide Convention. In an emergency ruling, the UN court ordered Israel to take protective measures to prevent genocide. In addition, Israel must allow more humanitarian aid for the people in the Gaza Strip.
At the end of May, the International Court of Justice then ordered Israel to immediately end the controversial military operation in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. In addition to Turkey, several other countries, including Spain as the first EU country, have joined the lawsuit.
Israel is invoking its right to self-defense after terrorists from Hamas and other extremist groups attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people. Since then, Israel has been waging war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. However, thousands of Palestinian civilians have also fallen victim to the fighting. Israel is therefore criticized worldwide.
