Erdogan, Netanyahu trade jabs after Turkey seeks arrest warrant for Israel PM

Ankara: Turkey and Israel traded barbs on Friday after Ankara announced it had sought an international arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing him of “genocide” linked to the interception of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

Turkey has become a virulent critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has frequently accused Netanyahu of “genocide”.

Israel’s interception of the flotilla carrying some 430 activists in May sparked an international outcry. France, Italy and Australia have also launched judicial proceedings.

Turkey’s Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said on X that his ministry had asked the interior ministry to issue an Interpol red notice 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.

In a statement, Netanyahu’s office said Israel was “unimpressed by Turkey’s hypocrisy”.

“Erdogan is an antisemitic dictator who massacred Kurds, supports Hamas, and oppresses his own people,” it added.

– ‘Outrageous ravings’ –

It added that Israel would “continue to act forcefully against Turkey’s attempts to destabilise the region” — an apparent reference to a previous accusation that Ankara was seeking to establish a military presence in Syria, where authorities said Israel bombed an air base near the Turkish border this week.

Turkey quickly fired back, with Erdogan’s office calling the remarks “outrageous ravings” and accusing Netanyahu’s government of “seeking to evade accountability”.

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Pointing to upcoming polls in which Netanyahu’s job is on the line, it added: “This kind of cheap politics by Netanyahu and his associates, which is also intended to give him an electoral advantage, carries no weight whatsoever.”

According to Turkey’s IHA news agency, Netanyahu’s co-accused, Afek Moskovitch, is an Israeli soldier, who is also accused over actions in Gaza.

IHA, citing the indictment, said Moskovitch had posted footage on Instagram showing tanks and a bulldozer destroying buildings at the Islamic University of Gaza, including a hospital and medical faculty.

About 50 vessels were in the Global Sumud Flotilla that left Turkey in May heading for the besieged Palestinian territory. The activists were detained in the Mediterranean by the Israeli military and then taken to an Israeli prison before being expelled.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir also sparked outrage by releasing a video showing himself taunting flotilla activists who were on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs.