Erdogan Tells UN’s Guterres Israel Must Be Tried in Int’l Courts over Gaza Crimes

Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023, amid a truce in battles between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023, amid a truce in battles between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Erdogan Tells UN’s Guterres Israel Must Be Tried in Int’l Courts over Gaza Crimes

Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023, amid a truce in battles between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023, amid a truce in battles between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday told United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Israel must be held accountable in international courts for the war crimes it committed in Gaza, the Turkish presidency said.

In a phone call ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza planned for Wednesday, Erdogan told Guterres that "Israel continues to shamelessly trample on international law, laws of war, and international humanitarian law by looking in the eyes of the international community", his office said.

Israel launched an air and ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the militant group carried out a deadly gun rampage in southern Israel last month, killing some 1,200 people and taking 240 others hostage. Israeli bombardment has killed more than 15,000 in Gaza, according to the enclave's health authorities.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, part of a so-called contact group of Muslim countries that has been holding talks with Western leaders over Gaza, will attend the meeting in New York on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.



Dutch Tighten Controls on Military and Dual Use Exports to Israel

Containers in the Port of Rotterdam are seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
Containers in the Port of Rotterdam are seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
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Dutch Tighten Controls on Military and Dual Use Exports to Israel

Containers in the Port of Rotterdam are seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
Containers in the Port of Rotterdam are seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo

The Dutch government said on Monday it had tightened export controls for all military and 'dual use' goods destined for Israel.

All direct exports and the transit of these goods to Israel will be checked to see if they comply with European regulations, and will no longer be covered by general export licences, the government said in a letter to parliament.

"This is desirable considering the security situation in Israel, the Palestinian territories and the wider region," foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp and trade minister Reinette Klever wrote, Reuters reported.

"Exporters will still be able to request permits, that will then be checked against European regulations."

The government said no military goods for Israel had been exported from the Netherlands under a general permit since Israel started its war in Gaza following the attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

It said that the general licence for the export of "low risk information security goods", such as routers for network security, was frequently used for export to Israel.

It estimated that between 50 and 100 permits for the export of those goods would now have to be requested on an individual basis.

A Dutch court last year ordered the government to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they were being used to violate international law during the war in Gaza.