Turkey seeks Interpol red notice for Netanyahu over interception of Gaza-bound flotilla

Turkey has asked Interpol to issue red notices for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Afek Moskovitch over a case stemming from Israel's interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla, Turkey Today reported Friday, citing Justice Minister Akin Gurlek. Israel-Turkey tensions rise: Jerusalem & Ankara trade warnings over Syria strikes Gurlek said arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Moskovitch were issued on July 14 on a genocide charge, prompting the Justice Ministry to ask the Interior Ministry to pursue the Interpol notices. The case before Istanbul's 11th High Criminal Court names 35 defendants. The proceedings concern the interception of activists seeking to deliver aid to Gaza and their subsequent detention. Gurlek said the charges include crimes against humanity, genocide, unlawful deprivation of liberty, torture, intentional injury, property damage, aggravated robbery and hijacking. Erdogan says Turkey 'will not hesitate to fight' but advocates for peace Turkey would continue pursuing the case through domestic and international legal channels, Gurlek said, accusing Netanyahu's government of seeking immunity from accountability over its conduct in Gaza. Netanyahu's office hit back at Turkey's move, calling President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an "antisemitic dictator" and accusing him of massacring Kurds, harboring Hamas terrorists, occupying northern Cyprus and imprisoning journalists and political opponents. "Erdoğan’s pathetic attempt to intimidate the leaders and soldiers of Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, will go nowhere," the Prime Minister's Office said, adding that Israel would not tolerate what it described as Ankara's efforts to extend its "aggression against Israel into Syria."