Türkiye issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu over Flotilla attack

Turkey – Turkey has requested the arrest of Prime Minister Netanyahu and Israeli official Moskovitch from Interpol as part of the trial for the attack on Global Sumud Flotilla activists.

The request for an international arrest warrant came a month after arrest warrants were issued for Benjamin Netanyahu and Afek Moskovitch on July 14, 2026, as part of the ongoing court proceedings in Turkey for the attack on activists on charges of genocide. Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced the news today. In a statement published on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal, Gurlek said that the court proceedings are underway at the 11th Istanbul Criminal Court against 35 defendants, including Netanyahu and Moskovitch, an Israeli official, for the incident that occurred in international waters.

The ongoing proceedings in the Istanbul court against Netanyahu include charges of "crimes against humanity," "genocide," "aggravated deprivation of liberty," "intentional bodily harm," "torture," "damage to property," "aggravated robbery," and "hijacking of transportation," the minister added. "We will not allow the crimes committed in Gaza to be covered up or those responsible to be protected by a shield of impunity," Gurlek stated.

Netanyahu's response to international arrest warrant: Erdogan is an anti-Semitic dictator

“Erdogan is an anti-Semitic dictator who massacred Kurds, harbors Hamas terrorists, occupies half of Cyprus, and imprisons a record number of journalists and politicians who oppose him. Now he is trying to expand his aggression against Israel to Syria. Israel will not tolerate this. Erdogan's pathetic attempt to intimidate the leaders and soldiers of Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, will not succeed.” This is what Benjamin Netanyahu's office wrote in a post on X, after Turkey asked Interpol to issue a 'red notice' to the Israeli prime minister as part of the legal proceedings opened in Istanbul over his intervention against the activists of the Global Sumud Flotilla.