Hamas hails Türkiye’s decision to join ICJ genocide case against Israel

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Wednesday welcomed Türkiye's decision to join the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Hamas called the Turkish move a confirmation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish people's support for the justice of the Palestinian cause.

In a statement published on Telegram, the movement called on all countries of the world “to take immediate steps to join the case filed before the ICJ and to work on forming a united front to end the Nazi occupation of our occupied lands and to end its threat to the security and peace of the region.”

Ankara on Wednesday submitted a declaration to the UN’s highest court, saying that it is joining South Africa's genocide case against Israel.

Türkiye thus became a party to the genocide case, joining Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, and Spain, who have also joined South Africa, which first filed the case last December.

Türkiye’s file is expected to support South Africa's arguments and address how the Genocide Convention should be applied to Israel's actions in Gaza since last Oct. 7.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 40,000 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,600 others injured in the Israeli onslaught, according to local health authorities.

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

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala