Türkiye applauds ICJ Israel ruling

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has promised to “stand by our Palestinian brothers to establish a ceasefire”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has welcomed the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling ordering Israel to prevent the genocide of the Palestinian people. Türkiye, he said, will work to make sure that Israeli “war crimes” do not go unpunished.

“I find the interim injunction decision taken by the International Court of Justice regarding the inhumane attacks in Gaza valuable and welcome it,” Erdogan wrote on X on Friday evening.

The Turkish leader noted that the court’s decision is “binding on the countries party to the [UN] Genocide Convention,” and expressed hope that “Israel’s attacks against women, children and the elderly will come to an end.” 

The Hague-based court ruled on Friday that “the state of Israel shall take all measures to prevent the commission of genocide to Gaza,” punish any members of its military who commit genocidal acts, punish all public calls by officials for genocide, and immediately allow more humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.

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The court did not, however, demand that Israel cease its military operation in Gaza. South Africa, which brought the genocide case before the ICJ, had requested that the court order Israel to “immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.”

Erdogan has publicly called for a ceasefire on multiple occasions since Israel declared war on Hamas in October, following a surprise attack on the Jewish state by the militants that killed around 1,200 people. 

In a speech last Friday, the Turkish leader compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler, accusing Israel’s Western supporters of “idly watching acts of genocide and barbarism committed against the people of Palestine by the ‘modern fuehrer’ Netanyahu.”

“We will continue to follow the process to ensure that war crimes committed against innocent Palestinian civilians do not go unpunished,” Erdogan said on Friday. “As Türkiye, we will continue to work with all our strength and stand by our Palestinian brothers to establish a ceasefire and ensure the path to permanent peace.”

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In his response to the ruling, Netanyahu praised the court for not demanding a ceasefire, but declared that “the mere claim that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians is not only false, it’s outrageous.” Allowing the case to proceed “is a disgrace that will not be erased for generations,” he added.

Israel’s war on Hamas has left more than 26,000 Palestinians dead, roughly two-thirds of whom were women and children, according to the latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry. Despite the massive civilian death toll, US intelligence agencies believe that Israeli forces have only managed to kill around a fifth of Hamas’ 25,000-30,000 fighters.