ISTANBUL: Türkiye’s Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc stressed Saturday the need for the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to expedite the conversion of a file against Israel into a case.
“Israeli officials who have committed war crimes, aggression, murdered children, and committed genocide, including Netanyahu, must be brought before the court,” Tunc said during a speech at the Inter-Parliamentary Jerusalem Platform 5th Conference.
“Unfortunately, a crime against humanity, a human tragedy, continues to unfold before the eyes of the world. The recent attacks in Palestine are unquestionably crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes,” he added.
Tunc noted that the UN and the Security Council have issued more than 60 resolutions concerning Israel’s unjust attacks and human rights violations.
“It is impossible to call a state that disregards the decisions and laws of international organizations, violates human rights, and systematically commits these violations a state. Israel has been acting like a terrorist organization for almost a century,” he stated.
– Does the right to life, constantly reiterated by the West, exist in Palestine?
Tunc underscored that in Palestine, the most basic human rights are violated by Israel’s attacks.
“Can we speak of the right to life, constantly reiterated by the West and human rights advocates, in a place where thousands of people have been martyred? Why aren’t those advocating for the right to life raising their voices?”
The minister said the principles of humanitarian law in the Geneva Conventions have been violated, especially in attacks since Oct. 7.
He also noted that a provisional measure was taken in the case opened at the International Court of Justice by South Africa regarding the prevention of child slaughter, crimes against humanity and genocide, but there is no mechanism for the implementation of this provisional measure.
“The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court must now urgently convert the file in his possession into a case and bring Israeli officials who have committed war crimes, aggression, murdered children, and committed genocide, especially Netanyahu, before the court,” said Tunc.
