Türkiye on Wednesday submitted a declaration to the UN’s highest court saying that it is joining South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.
The Turkish delegation including Turkish Ambassador in The Hague Selcuk Unal and Justice and Development (AK) Party Istanbul lawmaker Cuneyt Yuksel submitted Türkiye’s file to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Türkiye thus became a party to the genocide case, joining Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, and Spain, who have also joined South Africa, which first filed the case last December.
Ankara’s move is expected to be pivotal to the case, and is likely to encourage other countries in the region to join in as well.
Yuksel told reporters before submitting the file that Türkiye has monitored the case very closely since the beginning.
He stressed that Israel has failed to implement previous ICJ provisional orders and acted without recognizing the law.
Türkiye will now “directly intervene” in the case, Yuksel vowed.
Türkiye’s file is expected to support South Africa’s arguments and address how the Genocide Convention should be applied to Israel’s actions in Gaza since last Oct. 7.
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.
Ten months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza since Oct. 7, and is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its military campaign.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the ICJ, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
Source: Anadolu Agency
