Int'l community 'eager' for Israel to face justice: Türkiye
Palestinian men and boys walk in front of a house damaged by Israeli bombardment in Rafah, the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, March 22, 2024. (AFP Photo)


Türkiye on Friday said the international community is "eagerly waiting for Israeli officials to be brought to justice for their crimes in Gaza."

"For the first time in history, the entire world public is eagerly awaiting the day when the Israeli officials who committed these crimes will be brought to justice," Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Öncü Keçeli said in a statement.

The statement noted that Israeli officials attempted to conceal their crimes against Palestinians and shield themselves from accountability, adding: "They have targeted President Erdoğan for speaking the entire truth."

Yet, the crimes Israel committed in Gaza are now exposed, and Israel is "on trial for genocide," the statement further said.

"Türkiye will continue to speak the truth, and bring the indescribable persecution of the Palestinian people to the global agenda," it concluded.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month traded barbs after Erdoğan compared the latter to the Nazis for the war crimes Israel is committing against Palestinians.

Erdoğan has been one of the most outspoken critics of Israel since the start of the war on Gaza, which began after Israel harshly retaliated to an Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas in Israel that claimed at least 1,160 lives, according to Israel.

Israel has responded with a relentless ground and air offensive that the Health Ministry in Gaza said has killed at least 32,000 in the besieged Palestinian enclave, mostly women and children.

The Israeli war has also pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to ensure its forces do not commit acts of genocide, and guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.