(Washington/Gaza) Tensions between Turkey and Israel have flared up again. On Friday, Turkey issued arrest warrants for 37 people, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials, accusing them of genocide and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar posted on the social media platform X on Friday (November 7), stating that Israel strongly rejects and disregards these accusations, calling it merely the latest public relations stunt by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Sa'ar also criticized Erdoğan for using the domestic judicial system to suppress political opponents and dissent.
A statement from the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office indicated that Israeli Defense Minister Katz, National Security Minister Ben-Gevil, and IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Zamir are among those targeted for arrest. However, the authorities did not provide a complete list of arrest warrants.
The Turkish statement also mentioned the Turkey-Palestinian Friendship Hospital built by Turkey in Gaza, which was bombed by Israel in March of this year.
Hamas welcomed Turkey's announcement.
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Since the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and the Hague, Turkey has consistently and vehemently criticized Israel. Last year, Turkey joined South Africa in filing a genocide lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands.
Turkey also intends to join the International Stabilization Force (ESF) to participate in post-Gaza security operations; however, Israel has consistently opposed Turkey's participation, arguing that Turkey's ties with Hamas are too close. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed to the media during a visit to Israel on October 24 that Israel has veto power over the composition of the ESF.
The international community is concerned that the fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Hague will not last long, and the legitimacy of Israel's military action in Gaza remains controversial.
Several former US officials told Reuters that the US had intelligence as early as last year that Israeli military lawyers had warned that the Israeli military action in Gaza could constitute war crimes, and that there were doubts within the Israeli military about the legality of the operation.
Two former US officials said that this intelligence was not widely circulated within the US government until the end of last year, sparking discussions in Washington about whether the US should adjust its policy towards Israel. If Israel is found guilty of war crimes, the United States is legally obligated to halt military aid and intelligence sharing.
Three former U.S. officials said the U.S. ultimately determined it lacked sufficient evidence to prove Israel deliberately attacked civilians or obstructed aid operations, and therefore maintained aid. Some former senior officials expressed dissatisfaction with the Biden administration's decision, believing it should have issued a stronger condemnation of Israel.
Former U.S. officials revealed that the Biden team briefed President Trump and his officials on the intelligence, but the latter showed little interest. Since Trump took office in January, he has become a staunch supporter of Israel.
Meanwhile, the United Nations said on Friday that since the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza on October 10, the UN and its partners have delivered 37,000 tons of aid to Gaza, mostly food, but this is still far from sufficient to meet needs.
UN spokesperson Haq told reporters that currently, access to Gaza is limited to only two border crossings; there are no direct routes from Israel to northern Gaza or from Egypt to southern Gaza, and NGO workers are not permitted to enter Gaza.
The United Nations said on Tuesday that it has distributed food parcels to one million people in Gaza since the ceasefire began, but warned that the distribution of essential food supplies must be accelerated to save lives. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) had previously called for the opening of all border crossings into Gaza to deliver large quantities of supplies to the Palestinian people. The WFP aims to distribute food parcels to 1.6 million people in Gaza, with each parcel containing enough food for one family for 10 days.
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