Turkey has asked Interpol to issue a red notice for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his interior minister, Afek Moskovitch. This is over the interception of a flotilla heading to Gaza.
The justice minister, Akin Gurlek, shared this news in a post on X on Friday. He said the request is part of an ongoing case about an attack on activists aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza in May.
A red notice means police around the world should find and arrest a person wanted for prosecution or to serve a sentence. Interpol checks requests from member countries before deciding to issue red notices.
Gurlek also mentioned that the arrest warrants from the ICC for Netanyahu and Moskovitch on July 14 for charges of “genocide” led the Justice Ministry to ask the Interior Ministry to seek these Interpol notices.
He said judicial actions are still ongoing in Istanbul’s 11th High Criminal Court against 35 defendants. “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,” he added.
In May, a Gaza-bound flotilla with over 50 boats carrying aid for Palestinians was stopped in international waters near Cyprus. Israeli forces fired on at least two boats from the Global Sumud Flotilla and detained hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists aboard these boats. Some activists reported physical or sexual abuse while in detention.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Israel's National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, caused public anger after sharing a video of detained activists kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs. In the video, Ben-Gvir waved an Israeli flag and mocked the detainees, shouting, “The people of Israel live” at one bound man being dragged to the group already kneeling.
Turkey has sharply criticized Israel's actions in Gaza since 2023, and this red notice request comes as ties between the two countries worsen over their interests in Syria. On Tuesday, Israel hit an airbase in Syria, fearing that the country was about to violate a “status quo” by allowing Turkish troops there. This has increased tensions in the already unstable Middle East.
Israel conducted eight airstrikes on the runway and storage facilities at the Abu al-Duhur military base near Aleppo in northwest Syria. This happened after Damascus said a Turkish military delegation visited the base, a claim Turkey later denied.
Two days later, Israel accused Turkey of seeking dangerous adventures in Syria. Ankara responded by urging an end to reckless Israeli attacks.
Hours after Turkey made its Red Notice request, Israel called President Recep Erdogan an “anti-Semitic dictator.” Jerusalem described this action as a “pathetic attempt to intimidate the leaders and soldiers of Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, which will lead nowhere.”
In response, the Turkish president’s office criticized Netanyahu’s “petty political tactics” and accused the Israeli government of trying to make Turkey look like a new threat.
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