Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Turkey on Friday announced that it issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several senior members of his government for genocide. A statement from the Istanbul prosecutor’s office said that 37 officials were named, including Israeli defence minister Israel Katz, national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir and army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir. The statement said the full list was not made public, reported AFP. Turkey has accused the officials of “genocide and crimes against humanity” that Israel has “perpetrated systematically” in Gaza. The statement also referred to the “Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital”, which was built by Turkey in the Gaza Strip and bombed by Israel in March. Last year, Turkey joined South Africa’s case accusing Israel of genocide at the International Court of Justice. A fragile ceasefire has been in force in Gaza since October 10 as part of US President Donald Trump’s regional peace plan.