Erdogan blasts Israeli war crimes as Turkish lawyers refer evidence to ICC

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reiterated that Israel has been committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip, as a group of legal experts submitted war crimes evidence to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Erdogan said on Friday that Tel Aviv has been “committing “war crimes by cutting off electricity, water, and food,” in the besieged enclave.

"Civilians that Israel deliberately targets are not limited to children and women. Israel also kills journalists who are trying to reveal the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza to the world despite all the difficulties.”

Erdogan added that more than 60 journalists have been killed since Israel waged its brutal war on Gaza on October 7.

The Turkish president made the remarks a day after a delegation of legal experts, including from the Turkish Parliament, submitted a file of evidence to the court in The Hague, calling on the international body “to hold the responsible ones accountable.”.

“No conscience can remain silent about this…we are faced with an indescribable atrocity,” said Cüneyt Yüksel, chairperson of the Justice Commission of the Turkish Parliament.

Yüksel said that “even though Israel is not a party to the ICC, Israeli officials can be prosecuted due to Palestine being a party country.”

Erdogan had previously said that his government would do everything to bring Israel to the ICC. He also said that his government was making preparations to declare “Israel a war criminal.”

SS