Overview
- Turkey formally requested Interpol red notices on Friday, August 21, 2026, asking police in member states to search for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others named in the Istanbul case.
- The request follows 14 July in‑absentia arrest warrants from the 11th High Criminal Court of Istanbul that list 35 defendants and allege crimes including genocide and crimes against humanity linked to the May interception of the Global Sumud flotilla.
- Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gürlek said the ministry sent the paperwork to Turkey’s interior and foreign ministries to pursue the red notices and diplomatic steps; Interpol has not issued a decision and red notices are requests not automatic arrest orders.
- Israel’s prime ministerial office responded with strong rhetoric, calling President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a “dictator antisemite,” and the exchange has sharply raised bilateral tensions after Israel’s 18 August strike on Abu al‑Duhur in Syria.
- The case centers on the armed interception of roughly 50 flotilla vessels carrying about 430 activists, some held in Ktziot prison before expulsion, and the legal fight could test questions of head‑of‑state immunity, member states’ willingness to act on red notices, and regional stability.