Erdogan discusses need to prosecute Israel for Gaza ‘genocide’ with ICC chief prosecutor

September 23 () –

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, in New York on Monday, to whom he conveyed the need to prosecute those responsible for the “genocide” in the Gaza Strip in order to maintain confidence in international justice.

“Israel must be held accountable for its crimes,” he said during the meeting, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency. Israel “has committed genocide in Gaza,” Erdogan said, adding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “does not hesitate to violate international law and human rights.” Now Israel “is shamelessly planning new massacres on its list, believing that no one has the capacity to stop them.”

Erdogan stressed that Turkey “will continue to make every effort to prove the crime of genocide with concrete evidence.” “It is extremely important that the genocide complaint filed against Israel at the ICC concludes with the punishment that those responsible for genocide deserve in order to maintain confidence in international law,” he added.

During the meeting, Erdogan handed Khan the books ‘Proof’ and ‘Witness’ which contain evidence of crimes committed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. Erdogan is in New York to participate in the 79th annual session of the UN General Assembly.

In May, the ICC prosecutor’s office requested the issuance of arrest warrants against Netanyahu, his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and several senior members of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity following the group’s October 7 attacks and subsequent offensive against the Gaza Strip.

The Rome Statute, the international treaty that regulates the functioning of the ICC, establishes that this court cannot judge any accused ‘in absentia’, so it needs the individual in question to physically sit in the dock and answer in person for the crimes of which he is accused. Detention is, therefore, an essential condition for going to trial.