Judges enter the courtroom during a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands. EPA
Judges enter the courtroom during a hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands. EPA

Turkey joins South Africa's ICJ genocide case against Israel



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Turkey joined South Africa’s case against Israel on Wednesday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, a diplomatic official has confirmed to The National.

Ankara has presented its filing for the case – known legally as an "intervention" – to the UN court's seat in the Netherlands, the source said, following remarks by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during a visit to Egypt last weekend.

Turkey is one of around 150 countries that have signed the UN Genocide Convention, making it eligible to intervene in cases concerning the treaty. State parties to the convention – including South Africa and Israel are bound to make attempts to prevent and to punish acts of genocide.

The move makes Turkey the latest country to join South Africa’s case, in which it accuses Israel of breaching the UN's Genocide Convention in its military operations in Gaza.

“According to the court rules, the ICJ will notify the parties to the case [South Africa and Israel] of the declaration of intervention and request their written observations,” the Turkish diplomatic official said.

“The court will make its decision on admissibility, if necessary by holding an oral hearing.”

Turkey's legal team flew to the Netherlands to present the filing, according to Turkish media and politicians.

“The petition for intervention expresses how the relevant articles of the Genocide Convention should be interpreted, especially within the context of the massacres committed by Israel in Gaza since October 7, 2023," said Cuneyt Yuksel, head of the Turkish Parliament's justice committee, in a post on X.

"With its application for intervention, Turkey will show the entire world that it stands by the Palestinian cause and against the inhuman genocide in Gaza, also in the eyes of international law."

Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico and Spain, as well as Palestinian officials, have already filed similar interventions in the case, although the court has yet to rule on their admissibility. Egypt also recently signalled its intent to join the case.

Israel has denied accusations of genocide and claims its military operations in Gaza are a legitimate response to eliminate Hamas after its October 7 attacks, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and at least 240 were taken hostage by Hamas militants.

More than 39,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 10 months, with tens of thousands injured.

In January, the ICJ ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians. In May, it said that Israel should halt a planned military offensive in Gaza's southern Rafah province, and ensure unhindered humanitarian aid access through the border crossing with Egypt.

But a final ruling on whether Israel has breached the Genocide Convention could take years and any decision will not be legally binding.

Before Turkey's application on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry's representative in Ankara urged the ICJ's previous orders to be "implemented as soon as possible".

Israel's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Turkey’s move is the latest in a series of actions that have distanced Ankara from its previously healthy economic ties with Israel, and has frozen previously warming diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Turkish and Israeli officials have exchanged strong criticism on social media. This week Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an “anti-Semitic dictator”.

The Turkish leader has described Hamas members as “freedom fighters" and even normally reserved Turkish diplomats, including Mr Fidan, have traded barbed comments online with Israeli officials.

In May, Ankara banned trade with Israel, leading to a steep drop in business previously worth hundreds of millions of dollars every month.

Mass marches have taken place across Turkey in protest over the war in Gaza. The two countries have yet to downgrade diplomatic ties officially.

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Four-day collections of TOH

Day             Indian Rs (Dh)        

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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

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Name: Kumulus Water
 
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The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Updated: August 07, 2024, 2:21 PM