Netanyahu Prepares ICC Case Against Erdogan
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the preparation of a potential case at the International Criminal Court against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a report by i24NEWS citing sources, the latest escalation in one of the Middle East's bitterest bilateral feuds, and one with an unusual twist: the Israeli leader preparing it is himself the subject of an active ICC arrest warrant, and his government does not recognize the court's jurisdiction.
What the Report Says
According to i24NEWS, Netanyahu has instructed an interministerial team and the head of the International Law Department at Israel's Justice Ministry to compile a legal dossier against the Turkish president. The file would focus primarily on alleged attacks against Kurdish minorities in Turkey, and would also address claims that Erdogan's government funds Hamas and has hosted Hamas leaders.
The outlet reported that Israel would more likely pursue the case through a third party, likely a state party to the Rome Statute — than file directly, though both options remain open. According to the sources, however, Israel hopes to avoid taking either step: the existence of the case is intended as leverage and deterrence against Ankara.
The Escalating Feud
The move follows Türkiye's announcement in August that it had asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice for Netanyahu after a Turkish court issued a warrant for his arrest on charges including genocide, connected to Israel's interception of the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla earlier this year.
Netanyahu has responded with scathing personal attacks on Erdogan, calling him "an antisemitic dictator," accusing him of massacring Kurds and harboring Hamas members, and in his address to the UN General Assembly on September 24, describing Türkiye as "the latest country to become a super spreader of antisemitic lies." In that speech he also accused Erdogan of having "murdered thousands of Kurdish civilians," imprisoned journalists and opposition figures, and denied the Armenian genocide.
Türkiye's communications director, Burhanettin Duran, dismissed the accusations as baseless. Ankara has not publicly responded to the reported ICC preparation.
A Court Neither Side Recognizes
The ICC, established in The Hague under the 1999 Rome Statute (in force 2002), prosecutes genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Neither Israel nor Türkiye is a party to the statute — a fact that would complicate any prosecution of Erdogan but does not prevent the court from acting on referrals concerning nationals of non-party states under certain circumstances.
The irony at the center of the story is noted by analysts on all sides: in November 2024 the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu himself, accusing him of using "starvation as a method of warfare" and intentionally directing attacks against civilians in Gaza — charges Israel rejects and which the court cannot enforce without member-state cooperation.
The United States, Israel's closest ally and a vocal opponent of the Netanyahu warrant, is also not a Rome Statute party. Washington sanctioned ICC President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, accusing the court of exceeding its mandate; the ICC said it "strongly rejects" the designations, calling them "a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judiciary."