Turkey Demands Netanyahu’s Arrest via Interpol in Flotilla Case

A Turkish court hearing the case of the humanitarian flotilla “Sumud” has issued an interim decision, placing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the international wanted list via Interpol’s red notice. This was reported by TASS citing the Turkish television channel Halk TV.

According to the report, the 11th Heavy Penal Court of Istanbul issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and other defendants on charges of crimes against humanity, genocide, unlawful deprivation of liberty, ill-treatment, intentional infliction of harm to health, plunder, and seizure of vehicles. Earlier, the court opened a criminal case against Netanyahu and 34 senior Israeli officials based on an indictment from the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office, which is seeking life imprisonment for them.

In November 2025, the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and the leadership of the Jewish state on charges of genocide, massive bombings of the Gaza Strip, and obstruction of humanitarian aid delivery.

The “Sumud” flotilla is an international civilian humanitarian initiative uniting activists, doctors and volunteers from dozens of countries. Its organisers state that the missions aim to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip by sea and to draw the attention of the international community to the situation in the enclave and Israel’s naval blockade. Israeli authorities have repeatedly stated that they will not allow the blockade to be broken and have intercepted flotilla vessels, redirecting them to Israeli ports while detaining and later deporting those on board. In May 2026, a flotilla of 54 vessels and 426 participants from 39 countries was intercepted by Israeli forces.