President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye is ready to undertake responsibility in case a regional security mechanism is established amid ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza.
"We believe it is necessary to facilitate a new security mechanism in cooperation with regional actors. Türkiye is ready to undertake responsibility if such a step is taken," Erdoğan told reporters following a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara on Tuesday.
Saying that Israel has been committing crimes against humanity in the past 25 days with the support of the U.S. and the European Union, Erdoğan said Türkiye is holding discussions to make sure that perpetrators behind war crimes in Gaza are held accountable before the law.
Erdoğan also criticized Western countries for their complicity in Israel's war crimes.
"The Western world, mainly European countries, have failed their humanity lesson once again in Gaza, he said, adding that they have completely lost their credibility.
"Those who are bystanders to the deaths of thousands of Gazan children today will have no credibility for anything they might say on any topic tomorrow," he said.
Turkish authorities are exploring ways to bring crimes committed by Israel against Palestinian civilians before the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Türkiye is not a party to the Rome Statute, the international treaty that paved the way for establishing the ICC. Thus, it cannot directly apply to the court. However, it can notify the Prosecutor’s office at the ICC through government agencies and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) about crimes against humanity. Under the Rome Statute’s Article 15, the Prosecutor may initiate investigations proprio motu (on one's own initiative) based on information on crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC. Therefore, Türkiye can issue notices about crimes committed by the Israeli government.
War crime evidence includes the use of white phosphorus bombs dropped by Israel on Palestinians, targeting of hospitals, schools, refugee camps, mosques and churches, as well as Israel’s rejection of the United Nations General Assembly’s resolution for a humanitarian cease-fire.
