Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan in New York on Monday, the Presidential Communications Directorate said.
The closed-door meeting at the Turkish House came on the sidelines of the 79th session of the U.N. General Assembly.
Erdoğan told Khan that the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not hesitate to violate international law in Gaza, where at least 41,000 Palestinians were killed.
He noted that Israel was recklessly making plans to carry out new massacres, wrongfully thinking that there was no power to stop them.
The president continued by saying that Israel needs to be held accountable for the crimes it is committing and that the ICC case on Israeli genocide must be concluded and the perpetrators of genocide must receive necessary punishment for their crimes, in order to preserve the sense of trust in international law.
“Türkiye will continue to strive to the best of its abilities to determine Israel’s genocidal crimes with concrete evidence,” Erdoğan told Khan.
Khan in May requested that the court issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on suspicion of committing crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
Since then, Khan has requested twice, most recently in August, for the court to expedite the issuance of the warrants.
Since last Oct. 7, over the course of nearly a year, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed more than 41,400 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 95,500, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel also faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the U.N.’s International Court of Justice, a body separate from The Hague-based ICC, which is independent.
Türkiye has been a fervent critic of Israel, with Erdoğan comparing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, accusing Tel Aviv of committing genocide and criticizing Western nations for backing Israel.
In May, Türkiye suspended trade with Israel, citing its assault on Gaza. In contrast to Western nations that have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization, Erdoğan has commended the group, calling it a liberation movement.
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