Turkey has issued an international arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and another Israeli citizen, announced Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek on Friday. The measure was taken as part of an investigation into Israel’s interception of the Gaza Flotilla and the arrest of activists on board.
Benjamin Netanyahu and Afek Moskovici are criminally pursued in Turkey for crimes against humanity, genocide, aggravated deprivation of liberty, assault and voluntary harm, torture, destruction of property, aggravated robbery, and hijacking of transport vehicles.
“Within the judicial procedures related to the attack in international waters against the activists of the Flotilla (…) and in accordance with the arrest warrants issued on July 14, 2026 against Benjamin Netanyahu and Afek Moskovici for genocide, the Ministry of Justice requested the Ministry of Interior to issue red notifications for their international arrest,” announced the Turkish minister.
The approximately 430 members aboard about 50 vessels intercepted by the Israeli military in the Mediterranean Sea, west of Cyprus, in May, were forcibly brought to Israel and then detained in the Ktziot prison in the south of the country, before being expelled, according to Agerpres.
In response, Benjamin Netanyahu has labeled Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as an “antisemitic dictator” and pledged that Israel will act against attempts by the Ankara administration to destabilize the region.