Israel is preparing a legal file at the International Criminal Court targeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a...

Israel is preparing a legal file at the International Criminal Court targeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to Israeli outlet i24NEWS. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the country's interministerial team and the head of the International Law Department to begin building the case. The file is expected to focus primarily on Erdogan's treatment of the Kurdish minority in Turkey, with his government's alleged funding of Hamas as an additional element. Netanyahu's order came after Erdogan announced he had turned to Interpol requesting a Red Notice for Netanyahu's arrest, though Israeli sources say that was only one of a series of escalating actions that triggered the decision. Israel does not recognize ICC jurisdiction and has not signed the Rome Statute. Turkey has not signed it either. That legal reality means Israel is more likely to use a third party to submit the case rather than file it directly. Perhaps the most telling detail: Israeli sources say the goal may not be to actually file the case at all. The legal file is intended primarily as leverage, a deterrent to pressure Erdogan rather than a genuine court submission. Netanyahu declined to comment, as did officials from the Israeli Justice Ministry. The move signals a significant escalation in the Israel-Turkey diplomatic standoff, with both sides now openly reaching for legal and institutional weapons against each other. #Israel #Turkey #ICC