Turkey Will Support South Africa’s Genocide Bid Against Israel at ICJ
Turkey plans to submit a declaration of intervention in support of South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the United Nations’ International Court of Justice in the Hague, according to a diplomatic source.
Earlier this week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan signaled that Ankara intends to make the official statement on Wednesday.
While Turkey initially announced its intention to join South Africa’s bid against Israel in May of this year, it has spent the last few months making extensive legal preparations to file its own case outright.
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“Turkey’s intervention pushes the international community to recognize and address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” the source said, adding that the case would be submitted at 13:30 GMT.
Turkish officials said in a separate statement, “Türkiye’s declaration is the most detailed, comprehensive, and well-argued among the intervening countries. This rigorous approach provides the ICJ with a solid legal framework for interpreting the Genocide Convention accurately.”
In June, Spain became the only European country to request intervention in the case. Several other countries, including Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, and Mexico, have joined Spain.
Israel has consistently denied allegations of genocide, insisting that the war against Hamas in Gaza is one of self-defense in response to the Palestinian group’s surprise October 7 assault on Israel.
Israel has called South Africa’s claim that it intended to “destroy Palestinians in Gaza” entirely baseless and disconnected from the reality of the fighting on the ground.
