Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hailed the recent decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for their genocidal war crimes and crimes against humanity tied to the war in Gaza.
Fidan said the warrant is “an extremely important step” toward holding perpetrators of genocide accountable for their crimes.
Many countries and organizations welcomed the decision, calling on all countries to implement it.
“The arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Gallant announced by the International Criminal Court is hope-inspiring for the execution of justice,” Fidan said.
The top Turkish diplomat added that Ankara would continue to work toward the implementation of international law and all rules to punish genocide, saying that it was a duty toward Palestinians killed by Israel and also all oppressed people and future generations.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş and Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç also welcomed the ICC decision as a step in the right direction.
In the groundbreaking decision to issue the warrants, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe the Israeli prime minister and former defense minister were criminally responsible for the persecution of Palestinians and starvation in the besieged Palestinian enclave.