Turkey Officially Files to Join the ICJ Genocide Case Against Israel

Turkey is the latest nation to involve itself in South Africa's case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel, which accuses Israel of genocide. Turkey has filed on the side of South Africa, seeking to provide evidence of what it claims are genocidal actions against Gaza and Palestinians..Another Expansion.Turkey had first announced their intention to intervene in the case several months ago, but had yet to file an official application to the ICJ as they were awaiting the completion of necessary domestic legal processes. Earlier this week, Turkey announced that they would officially be filing this week, as those processes appear to have been completed..The official Turkish filing makes Turkey the latest of several different countries to file for intervention in the case. More, still, have stated their intention to file, but have yet to do so..Thus far, Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Spain and the State of Palestine have filed official applications to intervene in the case. Germany, Egypt, Ireland, and more have stated their intention to intervene, but have not yet filed official applications..Notably, all of the nations that have filed official applications thus far have done so in support of South Africa. Nearly all of the nations which have stated their intention to intervene are also doing so in support of South Africa except for Germany, who is filing in support of Israel..The ICJ has yet to accept the applications of any nation..Details of the Case.The case which Turkey has applied to join was initially filed by South Africa at the end of December. The case accuses Israel of committing genocide within Gaza, and had sought several provisional measures to be brought against Israel..Initially, South Africa was seeking a court order for Israel to halt the war completely, take action to prevent genocide, and allow in humanitarian aid, among other things..The ICJ has ruled on several sets of provisional measures since South Africa's initial filing. While they have fallen short of ordering Israel to halt the war completely, they did order Israel to halt their assault upon Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza that had been pivotal for humanitarian operations in Gaza until early May, when Israel launched its assault upon the city..This order has, of course, not been adhered to..Besides this, the ICJ has, on several occasions, ordered Israel to expand humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip. Several nations have accused Israel of not adhering to this ruling as well, an accusation Israel has denied. Instead, Israel has oftentimes blamed the UN for the shortcomings in aid delivery..Israel has also rejected the ICJ case itself, accusing South Africa of abusing the genocide convention and the ICJ..The ICJ notably has not ruled that Israel has or has not committed genocide in Gaza. Thus far, they have only ruled upon provisional measures sought by South Africa..A History of Animosity.While Israel has had many critics over its conduct in the war in Gaza, Turkey, and more specifically Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been one of the most vocal..Erdogan has consistently accused Israel of carrying out genocide in Gaza and criticized western support for Israel, particularly military support. Further, Erdogan has also called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to face legal consequences for Israel's actions during the war..Turkey in May cut all trade ties with Israel, valued at billions of dollars..The cut came after repeated criticisms of Turkey and Erdogan for maintaining these trade relationships despite the nation's assertion that Israel was committing genocide..Israel and Turkey have continually traded blows diplomatically, as Erdogan and Turkish authorities accuse each other of immoral action..In January, the then-newly appointed Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, fired back at Turkey's claims of Israel committing genocide by stating that the claims, which are "from a country with the Armenian Genocide in its past," were "unfounded.".This statement from Katz was particularly notable as Israel has not issued any official recognition of the Armenian Genocide..More recently, rhetoric has intensified between the two nations after Erdogan threatened intervention in Israel at a meeting of his AKP Party. In his speech, he threatened to "do the same" as Turkey had done in Libya (where Turkish military assets are present), and in Karabakh, in reference to the disputed territory of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) that Azerbaijan seized complete control of from separatist forces in September..Katz released a statement firing back at Erdogan, comparing him to Saddam Hussein and stating that Erdogan should "remember what happened there and how it ended.".This intensification of rhetoric and heightening of tensions comes as the region is on alert in anticipation of Iran and Hezbollah's retaliation against the Israeli assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr..Turkey declared a national day of mourning on August 2nd for Haniyeh's death on July 31st. Katz again issued a condemnation of this, and summoned the Deputy Turkish Ambassador to Israel over the issue, further threatening a potential expulsion after stating that if Turkish embassy staff wished to mourn Haniyeh, that they could do so in Ankara, the Turkish capital, in order to "mourn alongside their master, Erdogan.".Israel has yet to issue a statement regarding Turkey's application, however is likely to condemn the move as well.