Case at UN court "beginning of a new era for Palestine, Israel": Turkish parliament speaker

​​​​​​​By Kemal Karadag and Aykut Yilmaz

ANKARA (AA) - South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) “is the beginning of a new era for both Palestine and Israel,” Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus said Thursday.

“The days when (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and his gang will be held accountable and tried in international courts are near,” Kurtulmus said in parliament in Ankara.

His comments were made before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed an extraordinary session on Palestine.

Ankara, by joining the case, showed its “resilient and characterful stance” at the ICJ, he said, adding the Palestinian issue is a “national cause” for Türkiye.

Respecting Palestinian legacy, Türkiye will continue to protect the region until a sovereign and free Palestinian state is established within 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital, he said.

Kurtulmus said millions all around the world voiced support for Palestine regardless of language, religion or race. The cause of Palestine will succeed, he added.

Abbas and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Wednesday at the Presidential Complex in Ankara to discuss the crisis in Palestine and steps to achieve a permanent cease-fire and regional peace.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive against the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

The Israeli onslaught has since killed more than 40,000 victims, mostly women and children, and injured over 92,400 others, according to local health authorities.

More than 10 months into the Israeli assault, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.​​​​​​​

*Writing by Gozde Bayar