Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel of extending its “systematic brutality” from Gaza to the West Bank.
Speaking at a press conference with Slovenian Foreign Minister Tania Fajon, Fidan stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “continues to play with fire” and is looking to “spread war across various fronts.”
Fidan urged the international community to halt Israeli actions, emphasizing that the conflict “must stop immediately,” according to Turkey’s Daily Sabah newspaper.
His comments follow the Israeli military’s announcement on Wednesday of a major military operation in Jenin and Tulkarm in the West Bank.
Since the start of Operation “Al Aqsa Flood,” Israel has escalated its attacks in the West Bank, resulting in over 635 Palestinian deaths and more than 10 arrests.
Meanwhile, regional and international efforts to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza and a deal for the release of Palestinian and several Israeli prisoners continue.
This conflict intensification comes after Hamas launched thousands of rockets into Israel from Gaza on October 7, 2023, leading to approximately 1,200 Israeli casualties.
Turkey filed a request with a U.N. court to join South Africa’s lawsuit accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza, the foreign minister said.
Turkey’s ambassador to the Netherlands, accompanied by a group of Turkish legislators, submitted a declaration of intervention to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
With this development, Turkey, one of the fiercest critics of Israel’s actions in Gaza, becomes the latest nation seeking to participate in the case. Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Libya have also asked to join the case, as have Palestinian officials. The court’s decision on their requests is still pending.
“We have just submitted our application to the International Court of Justice to intervene in the genocide case filed against Israel,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan wrote on the social media platform X. “Emboldened by the impunity for its crimes, Israel is killing more and more innocent Palestinians every day.”
“The international community must do its part to stop the genocide; it must put the necessary pressure on Israel and its supporters,” he said. “Turkey will make every effort to do so.”
