Senior Turkish official demands accountability for Israeli genocide in Gaza

By Kemal Karadag

ANKARA (AA) - The head of a Turkish parliamentary committee on Wednesday demanded accountability for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and officials responsible for the genocide in Gaza.

“The International Court of Justice has declared with its ruling that Israel is not above the law or beyond the reach of justice," Cuneyt Yuksel, chairman of the Parliamentary Justice Committee, said at a press conference in Ankara.

On Friday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) found South Africa’s claim that Israel is committing genocide plausible. The court issued an interim order urging Israel to stop obstructing aid deliveries to Gaza and improve the humanitarian situation.

Emphasizing that the ruling admits Israel's decades-long occupation in Palestine, displacement, oppression and "apartheid" policies, he said the rule is historical as it considers Israel's massacres within the framework of genocide.

“Turning a blind eye to acts of genocidal nature is contrary to the founding spirit and purposes of the UN,” he said, adding that Türkiye will closely follow the ongoing case and be the voice of the oppressed Palestinian people.

He said Israel must immediately stop the military operation in Gaza.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, killing at least 26,751 Palestinians and injuring 65,636, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar