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Turkey seeks Interpol pursuit
Turkey announced it would request an Interpol Red Notice for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of a case tied to Israel’s interception of a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza and the detention of activists on board.
“The Turkish Ministry of Justice on Friday asked the Ministry of Interior to issue a Red Notice against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu”
Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürla announced that the 11th High Criminal Court in Istanbul continues to examine case No. 2026/108, which includes 35 defendants, including Netanyahu and Israeli Avichai Moskowicz.
Gürla said the Ministry of Justice asked the Ministry of Interior to issue a Red Notice based on arrest warrants issued on July 14, 2026, charging genocide, crimes against humanity, and other offenses tied to the assault on activists in international waters.
The Turkish justice minister stressed, “We do not accept in any form the view that treats Netanyahu’s administration, which practices a policy of genocide in Gaza, as above the law or immune from punishment.”
The Turkish request was described as a step that passes through Interpol to assist a country in locating a wanted person and temporarily detaining them, pending consideration of extradition or taking legal action.
Netanyahu and U.S. urge restraint
In response to Turkey’s move, Netanyahu’s office said Erdoğan’s “pitying” attempt to intimidate Israeli leaders and soldiers would not achieve any result, and it added that Israel would continue to act strongly against Turkey’s attempts to destabilize the region.
The same Turkish announcement also prompted a U.S. call for restraint, with the U.S. State Department urging both Israel and Turkey to engage in dialogue and show restraint amid reports of Israeli security warnings about escalating tensions between the two countries.
An Israeli Channel 12 reporter quoted the U.S. State Department spokesman as saying that restraint and dialogue were the best path forward.
Channel 12 also cited unnamed security sources saying that the verbal attack on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could escalate tensions between the two sides.
Channel 15 cited an unnamed security source saying Netanyahu chaired an important, sensitive, and secret security meeting in which Turkish threats were discussed.
Wider Gaza and Syria fallout
The Turkish judicial push was framed as part of a broader deterioration in relations with Israel, with the La Nación account linking the escalation to a clash over Israel’s bombing of a military base in northern Syria and Ankara’s subsequent announcement of a red notice.
“the Ministry of Justice has requested the Ministry of Interior to issue red notices with a view to their international arrest”
La Nación reported that Turkey’s Justice Minister Akin Gurel said the Ministry of Justice requested the Ministry of Interior to issue red notices “with a view to their international arrest” after arrest warrants issued on July 14, 2026 for Netanyahu and Afek Moskovitch for genocide.
In the same account, Netanyahu asserted, “We will not tolerate the Turkish army advancing south, because that threatens us,” after Israel attacked the Abu al-Duhur air base in Syria and warned Syria about to violate an “agreed-upon status quo with Israel on security matters.”
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al–Shaibani said he had made clear to Israel there were no plans to establish a Turkish military base and that the site was being rehabilitated for use by the Syrian Air Force.
The La Nación account also said Turkish presidential spokesperson Burhanettin Durhan told Anadolu that Turkey “will not fall into the trap of people like Netanyahu,” while describing Netanyahu’s stance as driven by “elections, internal political tensions, and fears.”