Turkey says Tel Aviv's 'deepening occupation' in Palestinian regions root-cause of Gaza war

Turkey on Monday told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the root cause of the Israel-Palestine conflict is the former’s “deepening occupation” of Palestinian territories.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s comment came amid the backdrop of an imminent expanded Israeli military operation into the southern Gazan city of Rafah.

“The unfolding situation after October 7 proves once again that, without addressing the root cause of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there can be no peace in the region,” Ahmet Yildiz, the Turkish foreign minister said.

He added, “The real obstacle to peace is obvious. The deepening occupation by Israel of the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, and the failure to implement the two-state vision.”

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ICJ hearings

ICJ or the World Court is hearing arguments from more than 50 states following a request by the UN General Assembly in 2022 that it issue a non-binding opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s presence in the West Bank.

The hearings, which began last week, are the first time the ICJ has been asked to provide advisory opinions on the issue. However, it won’t be forming an opinion on the subject anytime soon.

While the Palestinian side, including a team of prominent lawyers and the Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister, Riyad al-Maliki, argues that Israel has subjected Palestinians to decades of discrimination, Israel skipped the hearings but rejected the questions raised in a written submission.

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Turkey ‘hopes’ Netanyahu brought before ICJ for war crime

Meanwhile, Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus said that he hopes the ICJ trials hold Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes, according to Anadolu Agency.

“We hope that Netanyahu and war criminal top executives such as Radovan Karadzic (former political leader of Bosnia’s Serbs) and Ratko Mladic (former Serb commander) are destined to be held accountable and punished at the international war crimes court as well,” Kurtulmus said.

He added, “Here, what we expect from the countries that have supported Israel until now is that they should no longer give this support. Because not only Netanyahu and his regime will collapse, but also the countries that support him will be affected.”