Turkey seeks Interpol Red Notices for Netanyahu over Gaza flotilla

ANKARA/PARIS — Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek announced on Friday that Ankara is seeking Interpol Red Notices for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and another Israeli citizen, Afek Moskovitch, over Israel’s 2025 interception of an international flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.

What happened: Gurlek said the request for Netanyahu and Moskovitch was part of an ongoing trial in Turkey over the interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters and the detention of activists seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The Turkish official did not clarify who Moskovitch was or what role he allegedly played in the raid.

“We will not allow the crimes committed in Gaza to be covered up or those responsible to be shielded by impunity. We will resolutely use all available means under national and international law,” Gurlek wrote on X.

Netanyahu and 34 others face charges including crimes against humanity, genocide, unlawful deprivation of liberty, intentional injury, torture, property damage, aggravated robbery and hijacking.

Background: The Global Sumud Flotilla was an international civilian initiative that set sail in September 2025 with dozens of vessels and activists from more than 40 countries, seeking to break Israel’s naval blockade and deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. 

Israeli forces intercepted most of the boats in international waters and detained hundreds of participants. The flotilla included dozens of Turkish participants and 48 Turkish activists were detained by Israeli forces during the interception.

Istanbul prosecutors indicted Netanyahu and 34 other Israeli officials in April 2026 over the incident, accusing them of genocide, crimes against humanity and other offenses.

The proceedings began in April 2026 and the Istanbul court later ordered Turkish authorities to seek an Interpol Red Notice for Netanyahu and Moskovitch.

Why it matters: An Interpol Red Notice is a request to member countries to locate and provisionally detain a wanted person pending extradition or other legal proceedings. Interpol reviews each request to ensure it complies with the organization’s rules, but member countries are not legally obligated to act on a notice. Israel and Turkey are among Interpol’s 196 member states.

In 2014, a Turkish court sought Interpol Red Notices for four former Israeli military officials in connection with the 2010 raid on the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara flotilla, which left 10 Turkish citizens dead. No one was arrested in the case. 

Later on Friday, Netanyahu’s office issued a statement accusing Erdogan of anti-semitism. "Erdogan is an antisemitic dictator," it read. "He now seeks to extend his aggression against Israel into Syria. Israel will not tolerate it.” The statement added that the Turkish leader’s "pathetic attempt to intimidate the leaders and soldiers of Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East, will go nowhere."

The move comes amid heightening tensions between Turkey and Israel over Syria.

On Tuesday, Israel struck Syria’s Abu al-Duhur air base in northwestern Syria, roughly 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of the Turkish border, saying Damascus planned to allow Turkish forces to deploy there. Ankara rejected the claim as "frivolous."

Turkey, in turn, has accused Netanyahu’s government of using tensions with Ankara for domestic political purposes ahead of Israel’s October elections.

Know more: This is not the first time a Turkish court has sought Netanyahu’s arrest. Most recently, in November an Istanbul court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and 36 other Israeli officials over allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity related to Israel’s war in Gaza.

The warrants, domestic Turkish orders, had little practical effect, as Ankara is unable to enforce them unless Netanyahu and the other defendants enter Turkish jurisdiction.