On Monday, Turkiye’s Sabah newspaper reported that in a major move to go forward with its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the Turkish government has formed a group of local and international jurists to address the case. The group will include academics specialized in law and lawyers that has already been determined. Currently, Turkiye is in the process of selectinig international experts on international cases such as the one South Africa brought against Israel for genocide. Turkish authorities said selection of the group and preparation of a formal document for application could take months. The initial step will be to decide on the legal framework of the application to avoid anything being turned against Turkiye, in the future. Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced in May, that Turkiye would join the ICJ genocide trial. As Fidan explained: “This is a process with myriad legal details and not an ordinary case. Therefore, our experts focused their efforts on it. We will present legal documents and carry out the process with local and international lawyers.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reiterated that Israel must be held accountable for the “genocide” in the Gaza Strip and chided the international community as well as the U.N. for not taking enough steps to stop Israel from continuing its war. Fidan echoed Erdogan’s comments when he told a news conference last month, that he was perplexed regarding the lack of action from the international community on the situation in Gaza. As Fidan remarked: “In the 21st century, people are dying of hunger in Gaza. Mass graves are found in places where Israeli troops withdrew. Women, children, patients and the elederly are indiscriminately targeted. It is time to implement measures (forcing Israel to stop). Neither Palestinians, nor Turkiye, nor other countries in pursuit of justice will accept Israel’s attempt to besiege the people of Palestine and drive them out of their lands.” Recently, a delegation of 15 legal experts from Turkiye presented a file to The Hague, listing Israel’s war crimes. They cited evidence obtained on-site from Gaza that included notarized testimonies from the injured, civilians living there who were interviewed by phone. Information from journalists who currently work in the enclave and witnessed Israeli attacks, was also submitted.
Turkiye is following South Africa’s lead in its case before the ICJ after South Africa accused Israel of violating international law and committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. After that case was deliberated, the ICJ called on Israel to do everything possible to prevent genocidal acts and in a second request against Israel at the ICJ, called on Israel to “ensure urgent humanitarian assistance” in Gaza immediately. The ICJ also called on Israel to “immediately halt” the war and invoke a ceasefire. Meanwhile, Fidan said: “We already welcomed South Africa’s application to the ICJ and President (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan instructed us to explore paths to be involved in this case. We discussed it with our legal experts and launched a meticulous research process to be a part of the trial on the side of South Africa. We exchanged views with other countries on how to involve them in the process, to urge them to join (us).” As Fidan surmised: “We are facing a choice. We will either side with laws and humanity or pay the price together for problems caused by this oppression. I once again warn countries endorsing Israel’s crimes and jeopardizing international systems and security.”
