عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

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)
TT
TT

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.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Netanyahu Prepares Grounds to Dismiss Chief of Staff

Netanyahu with dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in October 2023 (dpa)
Netanyahu with dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in October 2023 (dpa)
TT
TT

Netanyahu Prepares Grounds to Dismiss Chief of Staff

Netanyahu with dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in October 2023 (dpa)
Netanyahu with dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in October 2023 (dpa)

After the successful ousting of his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing the grounds to dismiss Army chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, reports in Tel Aviv revealed.
The PM’s intentions were visible through a series of preliminary measures. In a nine-minute video statement posted to social media on Saturday, Netanyahu claimed the ongoing investigation into the alleged theft and leak of classified documents, including by his aides, aimed at harming him and “an entire political camp.”
He then asserted that vital classified documents weren’t reaching him. “I am the prime minister. I need to receive important classified documents, and indeed sometimes important information doesn’t reach me.”
Netanyahu then defended his former spokesman Eli Feldstein, who is accused of leaking a classified document in a bid to sway public opinion against a truce-hostage deal in Gaza.
Last Thursday, Feldstein was charged with transferring classified information with the intent to harm the state.
The PM considered accusations against his spokesman as a “witch hunt” against his aides and Israelis who support him.
For the past 14 years, the Israeli right had run a large-scale incitement campaign against the security services. But in the last year, this camp increased its attack, particularly against the Chief of Staff, Halevi, who believes it is necessary to stop the war and ink a deal with Hamas.
The right-wing “Mida” website published a report entitled “Herzi Halevi’s Political Sabotage,” describing the man’s “rising against the Israeli political leadership.”
The report said Halevi's inappropriate behavior started during the first weeks of the war when the Army announced it was “ready for a ground attack,” accusing Netanyahu of delaying such an operation.
Mida then listed several other instances in which it described Netanyahu as a great leader who ordered strong attacks and deep military operations. It then accused the army of refraining from following his orders.
The report concludes that the “freeing of hostages file was the straw that broke the camel's back.”
In an April 2024 speech marking the six-month anniversary of the war, Halevi has said that it is time to end the war in Gaza and reach a prisoner swap deal with Hamas, while Netanyahu took a hardline stance, refusing to compromise on what he called “red lines.”
The Madi website also criticized Halevi for saying that the government was responsible for ordering the army of again operating in Jabalia, a decision that resulted in significant Israeli casualties.
“Halevi should have been dismissed as soon as the government was formed, and this was Netanyahu's mistake. But it is not too late to fix it. You can't win wars with rebel chiefs of staff,” the website wrote.