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Akbar Novruz

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Türkiye has requested the issuance of Interpol Red Notices for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli official Afek Moskovitch in connection with a criminal case involving the alleged interception and detention of activists attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Türkiye's Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced the move, saying that the relevant documents had been forwarded to the Foreign Ministry following arrest warrants issued by an Istanbul court on July 14, 2026.

Gürlek said the judicial proceedings over the alleged attack on activists aboard the humanitarian aid flotilla in international waters were continuing.

The case, registered as 2026/108 at the Istanbul 11th High Criminal Court, involves 35 defendants, including Netanyahu and Moskovitch.

"In accordance with the arrest warrants issued on July 14, 2026, for Benjamin Netanyahu and Afek Moskovitch on charges of 'Genocide,' our Ministry of Justice has requested the Ministry of Interior to issue red notices for their international arrest, and the relevant documents have been forwarded to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Gürlek said.

According to the minister, Netanyahu and Moskovitch are accused of crimes against humanity, genocide and aggravated assassination in connection with the alleged armed intervention against civilians in international waters who were attempting to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

The defendants are also being prosecuted over allegations including deprivation of liberty, intentional injury, torture, damage to property, aggravated robbery and hijacking of transportation vehicles, Gürlek said.

The case relates to the interception of the humanitarian flotilla and the subsequent detention of activists. Turkish authorities maintain that the incident involved armed intervention against civilians in international waters.

The request for Red Notices represents a further step in Türkiye's judicial proceedings against Israeli officials over alleged crimes connected to the Gaza conflict.

An Interpol Red Notice is a request to law-enforcement authorities in member countries to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition or other legal proceedings. It does not itself constitute an international arrest warrant, and individual countries determine what legal effect to give such a notice under their domestic law.