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Interpol bid over flotilla
Turkey has requested Interpol Red Notices for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and another Israeli citizen, Afek Moskovitch, over Israel’s 2025 interception of an international flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said on Friday.
“before Istanbul's 11th High Criminal Court against 35 defendants”
Gurlek said the request was part of an ongoing trial in Turkey over the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters and the detention of activists seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Anadolu Ajansı report said judicial proceedings were continuing before Istanbul's 11th High Criminal Court against 35 defendants, including Netanyahu and Moskovitch, and that arrest warrants issued for Netanyahu and Moskovitch on July 14, 2026 prompted the Justice Ministry to ask the Interior Ministry to seek Interpol Red Notices.
Anadolu Ajansı added that the charges include crimes against humanity, genocide, aggravated deprivation of liberty, intentional injury, torture, damage to property, aggravated robbery and hijacking of means of transportation.
Al-Monitor said Gurlek wrote on X that Turkey would “resolutely use all available means under national and international law” as it sought the Interpol action tied to the flotilla case.
Gaza trial, rival claims
Al-Monitor reported that Gurlek said the request for Netanyahu and Moskovitch was part of an ongoing trial in Turkey over the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla and the detention of activists, while also noting that the Turkish official did not clarify who Moskovitch was or what role he allegedly played in the raid.
The same Al-Monitor piece said Netanyahu and 34 others face charges including crimes against humanity, genocide, unlawful deprivation of liberty, intentional injury, torture, property damage, aggravated robbery and hijacking.
In response, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement accusing Erdogan of anti-semitism, saying, "Erdogan is an antisemitic dictator," and adding that Israel would not tolerate what it described as Turkey extending aggression into Syria.
Haaretz reported that Netanyahu’s office condemned the move and said Erdogan was seeking to “extend his aggression against Israel into Syria,” while also describing the Turkish effort as an attempt to intimidate Israel.
Haaretz also said the Turkish Justice Ministry did not identify the other 32 Israelis targeted by the warrants, but said they were also senior officials, and that all 37 would be at risk of arrest if they entered Turkey.
What the notice means
Multiple outlets described the Interpol Red Notice as a request to locate and provisionally detain a person pending extradition or other legal action, while stressing that it does not automatically compel arrests under domestic law.
“are not legally binding”
El País said the notices are transmitted through each country’s national Interpol liaison offices and are received by all member states, which total 196, and that they differ from international arrest warrants and are not legally binding.
El País also said Netanyahu and 34 other defendants are being tried—in absentia—by Istanbul’s Criminal Court No. 11 on charges including crimes against humanity, genocide, deprivation of liberty, intentional injuries, torture, property damage, theft and hijacking of transport means for the first attack near Crete (Greece) and the subsequent assault closer to Gaza.
The same El País report said the Istanbul court asked for the red notice to be issued on July 14, but the Ministry of Justice had not processed the request so far at a moment of heightened tension with Israel.
Al-Monitor framed the Interpol move as part of a broader dispute between Turkey and Israel, saying it came amid heightened tensions between Turkey and Israel over Syria after Israel struck Syria’s Abu al-Duhur air base in northwestern Syria, roughly 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of the Turkish border.