The Israeli leader himself faces an active International Criminal Court arrest warrant and does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing a potential International Criminal Court (ICC) case against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seeking to use it as leverage in their escalating dispute, i24NEWS has reported, citing sources.
The move follows Türkiye’s announcement last month that it had asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice for Netanyahu after a Turkish court issued a warrant for his arrest on charges including genocide over Israel’s interception of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla earlier this year.
Netanyahu responded by lashing out at the Turkish leader, calling him “an antisemitic dictator” and accusing him of massacring Kurds and harboring Hamas members. He repeated his allegations in his UN General Assembly speech last week, describing Türkiye as “the latest country to become a super spreader of antisemitic lies.” Türkiye’s communications director, Burhanettin Duran, dismissed the remarks as “baseless accusations.”
Netanyahu has now reportedly instructed an Israeli interministerial team and the head of Israel’s International Law Department to prepare a dossier focused primarily on alleged attacks against Kurdish minorities. It would also address claims that Erdogan’s government funds Hamas.
The Hague-based ICC was established under the Rome Statute, which entered into force in 2002, to prosecute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. According to i24NEWS, Israel is more likely to pursue the case through a third party, although there is also a possibility that it could file the case directly.
Israel, however, hopes to avoid taking either step and “aims to use the existence of the case as leverage against Erdogan, effectively using it as a deterrent,” according to sources cited by the outlet.
In November 2024, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, accusing him of using “starvation as a method of warfare,” intentionally directing attacks against civilians in Gaza, and committing crimes against humanity.
Neither Israel nor Türkiye is a party to the Rome Statute, while the United States – Israel’s closest ally and a vocal opponent of the Netanyahu warrant – is likewise not a party. Washington sanctioned ICC President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, accusing the court of exceeding its mandate. The ICC said it “strongly rejects” the designations, calling them “a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution.”
The ICC has no means of enforcing the warrant on its own and relies on countries to carry out arrests. A July Economist/YouGov poll found that 49% of Americans thought the US should arrest Netanyahu if he entered the country.
