Türkiye officially requests to join genocide case against Israel before UN court

Ankara, Turkey – Turkey on Wednesday filed a request with a UN court to join South Africa's lawsuit accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip, its foreign minister said.

The Turkish Ambassador to the Netherlands, accompanied by a group of Turkish parliamentarians, submitted a declaration of intervention to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

This makes Turkey, one of the fiercest critics of Israel's actions in Gaza, the latest country to seek to join the proceedings. Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua and Libya have also asked to join the proceedings, as have Palestinian officials. The court's decision on their requests is still pending.

“We have just submitted our request to the International Court of Justice to intervene in the genocide proceedings against Israel,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan wrote on the social media platform X. “Emboldened by the impunity for its crimes, Israel is killing more and more innocent Palestinians every day.”

“The international community must do its part to stop the genocide; it must exert the necessary pressure on Israel and its supporters,” he said. “Turkey will make every effort to do so.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of genocide, called for its punishment by international courts and criticized Western states for supporting Israel. In May, Turkey suspended trade with Israel, citing its actions in the Gaza Strip as the reason.

Unlike Western nations that classify Hamas as a terrorist organization, Erdogan praises the group and describes it as a liberation movement.

At the end of last year, South Africa filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention through its military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Israel strongly rejects the genocide allegations and argues that the war in Gaza is a legitimate defensive measure against Hamas militants because of their October 7 attack in southern Israel, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.

If admitted to the case, the acceding countries would have the opportunity to submit written statements and speak at public hearings.

Preliminary hearings have already taken place in the genocide trial against Israel, but the court is expected to take years to make a final decision.

The court confirmed on Wednesday that Turkey had submitted a statement to intervene in the case, adding that South Africa and Israel had been invited to “submit written observations” on the request.

In a media statement, Hamas welcomed Turkey's call to join the lawsuit, saying it confirmed Erdogan's support for the Palestinian cause.

“No country in the world is above international law,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli previously told X. “The case before the International Court of Justice is extremely important to ensure that the crimes committed by Israel do not go unpunished.”

Keceli also called for the immediate implementation of the precautionary measures ordered by the court, including a halt to military offensives and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Since Erdogan came to power in 2003, the relationship between former allies Turkey and Israel has been unstable, marked by periods of severe tension and reconciliation. The war in Gaza has thwarted recent attempts to normalise relations.

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Associated Press writer Molly Quell contributed from The Hague.

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