Enforcing ICC arrest warrants key to restoring trust in international system: Turkish president

Türkiye's president on Saturday welcomed recent International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and former defense chief, emphasizing that enforcing the decision would be key in restoring confidence in the international system.

"We consider the implementation of this courageous decision by all parties to the (ICC) agreement important for restoring humanity's trust in the international system," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an address at the fourth International NGO Fair in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul.

Hailing the arrest warrants, issued Thursday by the ICC for Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over Israel's actions in Gaza, Erdogan asserted that countries supporting Tel Aviv were "fueling atrocities," despite often "lecturing" others on democracy and human rights.

In the landmark move, the ICC had announced arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

As for international organizations and media, Erdogan said they were turning "a blind eye to crimes against humanity" in Palestine, Lebanon, and elsewhere.

"The blood of those martyred and injured in Palestine stains not only their killers but also those who fail to stop them," he added.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year, killing more than 44,000 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,000.

It has also engaged in cross-border warfare with Lebanon, launching an air campaign in late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets. Over 3,600 people have been killed, with more than 15,300 injured and over a million displaced since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.