In a move meant to concretize President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s promise to hold Israel accountable for its war crimes in Gaza, a group of Turkish lawyers on Tuesday brought a file of evidence to The Hague.
The delegation of 15 legal experts, headed by Yasin Şamlı, the president of Istanbul Bar Association No. 2, explained the nature of the evidence in three files and answered questions throughout an hourlong presentation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor overseeing the Palestine case.
"Our discussions went very positively," Şamlı told reporters in front of the court building.
Listing genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression as crimes covered within the ICC’s jurisdiction, Şamlı said all four of these have been committed in Gaza since Oct. 7.
"We have submitted our petition to this end, which has been signed by 3,500 lawyers in Türkiye, and this number is only increasing," he said.
According to the delegation, most of the evidence in these files has been obtained on-site from Gaza. These include notary-approved testimonies from the injured, civilians living there interviewed by phone and information from journalists who currently serve in the enclave and witness Israeli attacks firsthand.
ICC prosecutors have said the evidence has been "the most serious" among five other files brought up so far, which were only "criticism-based."
Additionally, the delegation visited the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to meet with the team working on the Palestine case and relay the same documents.
More than 15,000 civilians, including over 200 health care workers, dozens of civil defense workers and over 60 journalists, have been killed in Israel’s relentless attacks so far. Still, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has widespread support, especially from Western nations.
Israel justifies its atrocities as a way to counter the Hamas resistance group, which controls Gaza. Although pro-Palestinian rallies have been underway for weeks now, Western countries enthusiastically endorse Israel’s attacks in the besieged enclave of Gaza.
Biased coverage of the conflict from international organizations has stoked rampant disinformation. Many media outlets have been accused of "turning a blind eye" to Israel’s war crimes.