Türkiye intends to join South Africa in ICJ case against Israel

Türkiye Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan announced Wednesday the country will be joining South Africa’s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in a press conference with Indonesian counterpart. Fidan stated on X (formerly Twitter) Türkiye will continue to stand by Palestinians and work to bring the perpetrators of the massacre in Gaza to trial.

The announcement comes after diplomatic tension between Israel’s foreign minister, Israel Katz, and Türkiye’s President Recep Erdoğan. Türkiye’s foreign ministry issued a statement reacting to a post made by the Israeli foreign minister, criticising the Turkish president for meeting with Hamas member Ismail Haniyeh, where it considered Katz’s post as “frivolous and low-level”.  The ministry said that the Israeli government will be held accountable before justice, and that Türkiye will continue to voice the oppression that Israel inflicts on the Palestinian people.

President Erdoğan stated that, with regards to US’s veto blocking Palestine from becoming a full member of the UN, the US Government does not contribute to the solution with its unconditional military and diplomatic support to Israel, but only causes the problem to grow even further. Moreover, he said Türkiye rejects the policies of Western countries on the Palestinian issue.

In December 2023, the Republic of South Africa instituted proceedings against Israel on genocide charges. The applicant country argued the defendant are committing genocidal acts with “the requisite specific intent” to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. In March, the court ordered Israel “to take all necessary and effective measures” to ensure the “unhindered” flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including food, water, fuel, medicine and sanitation supplies. In April, Colombia requested to intervene in the case, stating that Israel’s behavior is in contravention with the Genocide Convention. The same request was made by Nicaragua in January.