Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced Monday that his country will submit its file to The Hague this Wednesday, to join the genocide case filed against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
This announcement came in a joint press conference Monday with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdel-Ati, in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, where he is conducting an official visit .
“Israeli provocations pose a great danger and must be stopped, otherwise the world will pay a heavy price,” Vidan said. “That is why we have decided to be a party to the lawsuit filed against Israel before the International Court of Justice.”
He added that “the Israeli attack on various areas in the Gaza Strip represents a major threat over the past ten months,” stressing that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “does not want peace, but rather wants to burn the entire region.”
In turn, Abdel-Ati said that the talks with his Turkish counterpart addressed the growing regional challenges regarding the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza, stressing the need to avoid an explosion of the situation in the West Bank as a result of provocative settlement policies, and stressing the need to coordinate efforts to maintain security and stability in the region.
Abdel-Ati added that the international community must work to stop the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
On December 29, 2023, South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel before the International Court of Justice, on the grounds of its involvement in “acts of genocide” against citizens in the Gaza Strip.
Since the issuance of the preliminary rulings, the State of Palestine and several states have come forward to intervene in the case using a provision in the ICJ Statute that allows third parties to join the proceedings, including Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Chile, Spain, and Mexico, and other states have announced their intention to join the proceedings.
While making this statement publicly, the Turkish government is actively blocking a flotilla of aid ships that had been preparing to set sail from a Turkish port. According to freedomflotilla.org, “After weeks of discussions with the Port Authority, it is now clear to us that such permission will not be forthcoming from the Turkish government. We have been given no explanation as to why the Turkish government will not give permission for the departure when the government has been otherwise strongly supporting Palestine. Based on our past experience, we expect that it is owing to intense pressure from the United States, United Kingdom, and perhaps other NATO countries strongly aligned with Israel.
“Our mission has been once again bureaucratically stymied. Our Flotilla ships have met all legal requirements for this voyage, yet we are being blocked by a political decision on the part of the Turkish government.
“Israel has occupied Palestine for over 76 years, blockaded Gaza for 17 years, and for the last 10 months has been engaged in a genocidal assault on a trapped and beleaguered civilian population, bombing, killing, maiming, torturing and deliberately starving and causing infected over 2 million people. Most of our governments have been and continue to be shamefully complicit.
“The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) and our many supporters have been working to ready this mission for months, and we are all deeply disappointed that, despite its rhetoric, the Turkish government has now joined the ranks of those complicit in maintaining Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza. We continue to call on our governments to follow the clear guidance of the International Court of Justice regarding the illegality of the Israeli occupation in general and in particular the duty to facilitate the unobstructed delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians of Gaza.
“The FFC will continue its efforts to challenge the illegal and inhumane blockade on Gaza, including efforts to have our vessels released so that we can sail. A primary goal of our mission is to raise awareness about the genocide in Gaza in our respective countries. Our boat Handala continues on its For the Children of Gaza mission, now visiting Mediterranean ports and building solidarity as it makes its way towards Gaza.”
