Türkiye will seek to be part of South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, said the nation’s foreign minister on Wednesday.
“Türkiye has decided to seek to join in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ,” Hakan Fidan told a joint news conference alongside his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi.
During a meeting in the capital Ankara, the two discussed Palestine and the situation in Gaza, among other subjects.
“With this step, we hope that the process in front of the ICJ will progress in the right direction,” Fidan added.
Stating that Türkiye’s efforts on its application have been ongoing for “a very long time,” Fidan said Ankara will soon complete its legal work on the case.
“Meanwhile, we will continue to work with all friendly and allied countries on what more can be done on this issue and which countries can further apply,” he added.
Late last year, South Africa filed a case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
Fidan said that during his visit to the Saudi capital Riyadh earlier this week to attend the Gaza Contact Group meeting, he reiterated messages focusing on recognition of the Palestinian state and the two-state solution.
Expressing satisfaction that some Western countries are now accepting the two-state solution as a prerequisite and recognizing that ensuring Palestine’s security is as important as Israel’s, Fidan added: “With all these efforts, we can now see that at least in rhetoric, the entire world is converging towards the same point.”
“The statements from some European countries saying they are close to recognizing Palestine were also particularly encouraging,” he said.
Saying that currently around 136 countries recognize Palestine, but predominantly European countries and the US do not, Fidan added that the aim is transforming this recognition into greater international legitimacy and acceptance, applying more pressure, especially on the UN Security Council, and “primarily on the US”.
“In this regard, we are continuing our systematic and intensive efforts in collaboration with our allies,” he added.
Source: Anadolu Agency
