Turkish President Says Israel Must Face International Court over Gaza Atrocities
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged bringing Israel to an international court over its atrocities in Gaza.
He conveyed to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday that the Israeli military continues to violate international law in full view of the global community.
The two officials conferred before the UN Security Council meeting on Gaza slated for Wednesday. Discussions centered on addressing the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave and striving for “lasting peace” in the region, as stated by the Turkish president’s office in a release on X (formerly Twitter).
Erdogan also maintained that Israel “continues to blatantly trample on the international law, the law of war and the humanitarian law,” the statement said, adding that the Turkish leader demanded Tel Aviv “be held to account before the international law for the crimes committed.”
Since October 7, Israel has been engaged in a military campaign against Gaza following a surprise attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Israeli-occupied territories. The ensuing Israel response involved severe bombardments followed by a ground operation, resulting in over 15,000 Palestinian deaths, including numerous civilians and children, according to local sources.
Expressing condolences to Guterres on Tuesday, Erdogan mourned the deaths of more than 100 UN personnel in the conflict-stricken Palestinian enclave.
In response to mounting international pressure, a 'humanitarian pause' was brokered last week, leading to a truce and prisoner exchanges. Hamas released over two dozen captives and Israel released 117 imprisoned Palestinians.
Erdogan has consistently condemned Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, branding it a “terror state” and accusing the Israeli military of committing war crimes.
In November, Erdogan announced plans to request the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to investigate whether Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal. He stressed the urgency for inspecting Israel’s nuclear weapons, highlighting that Tel Aviv is not a party to the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
