Türkiye is pressing ahead with the case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) it sought to be a party of. The government moved to form a crew of local and international jurists specifically for the case, Sabah newspaper reported.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced last month that Ankara had decided to join the ICJ genocide trial. "This is a process with myriad legal details and not an ordinary case. Therefore, our experts concentrated their efforts on it. We will present legal documents and carry out the process with local and international lawyers," he stated recently.

Türkiye’s crew will include academics specialized in law and lawyers. The list of Turkish academics and jurists is largely determined. Türkiye is now selecting international experts on such international cases, especially against Israel. Authorities say crew selection and preparation of a formal document for application may take months. Türkiye first has to decide the legal framework of its application, to avoid having something that may be turned against Türkiye in the future. Turkish citizens have faced genocide allegations in the past by the Armenian lobby.

Türkiye has been a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause and continues diplomatic and legal efforts to resolve the conflict.

A delegation of 15 legal experts from Türkiye recently presented a file to The Hague listing Israel’s war crimes. They cited evidence obtained on-site from Gaza, including notarized 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.

In its case before the ICJ, South Africa accused Israel of perpetuating genocide in the Gaza Strip. In that case, the court called on Israel to do everything in its power to prevent genocide and recently ordered the country to "ensure urgent humanitarian assistance" in Gaza without delay.

Fidan said at a news conference last month that he wondered why the international community was still waiting before taking action amid the situation in Gaza. "In the 21st century, people are dying of hunger in Gaza. Mass graves are found in places where Israeli troops withdrew. Women, children, patients and the elderly are indiscriminately targeted. It is time to implement measures (forcing Israel to stop). Neither Palestinians, nor Türkiye, nor other countries in pursuit of justice will accept Israel’s attempt to besiege the people of Palestine and drive them out of their lands," Fidan said.

"We are facing a choice. We will either side with laws and humanity or pay the price together for problems caused by this oppression. I once again warn countries endorsing Israel’s crimes and jeopardizing international system and security," he added.

The minister noted that Israel should be tried for its attacks in Gaza. "We already welcomed South Africa’s application to the ICJ and President (Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan instructed us to explore paths to be involved in this case. We discussed it with our legal experts and launched a meticulous research process to be a part of the trial on the side of South Africa. We exchanged views with other countries on how to involve them in this process, to urge them to join (us)," he said.

He noted that more countries may take a stance on this issue, based on his observations at a recent summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Arab League in Saudi Arabia on Gaza.

In a case brought by South Africa alleging that the Israeli military operation amounts to "genocide," the ICJ last month ordered Israel to halt its Rafah offensive and demanded the release of hostages and the "unhindered provision" of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The Hague-based ICJ, whose orders are legally binding but lack direct enforcement mechanisms, also instructed Israel to keep open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza, after Israel's seizure of the Palestinian side in May effectively shut it.

Israel has dismissed the ruling, insisting that the court had got it wrong.