The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued on Friday arrest warrants for 37 senior Israeli officials, including Israel‘s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on charges of genocide and other serious violations of international law, Turkey’s judicial body announced on Friday.
According to reports in the Turkish press, including the daily Cumhuriyet, the warrants are part of an investigation into alleged war crimes and atrocities committed during Israel’s attacks on Gaza. Among those named are prominent Israeli political and military officials – including Defence Minister Israel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Chief of General Staff Eyal Zamir and Israel Naval Forces Commander David Saar Salama – who are alleged to have directed or allowed operations that killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children; the investigation also points to them as responsible for the attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla.
The prosecution said the decision follows an investigation into “systematic” attacks on civilians carried out since October 2023, including the bombing of hospitals, aid convoys and residential areas. The file also covers the murder of six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was shot 335 times, the massacre of 500 people in the attack on Al-Ahli Baptist hospital, the shelling of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital and the deliberate obstruction of humanitarian aid.
Following the filing of a criminal complaint, the president of the Istanbul Bar Association, Yasin Şamlı, held a press conference outside the Palace of Justice to denounce Israel for committing crimes against humanity and genocide in Gaza, despite having signed a ceasefire agreement. Şamlı further recalled that Israeli actions are not limited to the Palestinian enclave and that, in the last two years alone, Israel has carried out attacks in Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Iran, Qatar, Yemen, Iraq, Malta and Egypt.
According to the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office, the evidence gathered – including forensic reports and witness statements – points to “individual criminal responsibility” for acts that would constitute war crimes and genocide. As the suspects were not found on Turkish territory, the Istanbul Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in absentia for the 37 Israeli citizens under Articles 76 and 77 of the Turkish Penal Code, which effectively means that Netanyahu will be arrested if he enters Turkish territory.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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