ICC arrest warrants for Israel's Netanyahu, Gallant a 'turning point': Turkish parliament speaker

Recent International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and former defense chief are a "turning point in human history," Türkiye's parliament speaker said on Saturday.

"I hope Netanyahu and his gang are arrested wherever they go as soon as possible and held accountable at the International Criminal Court," said Numan Kurtulmus at an event in the Turkish metropolis Istanbul.

The ICC announced in a landmark move Thursday that it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Kurtulmus noted that many countries party to the ICC's founding Rome Statute — even those "where the Zionist lobby is very powerful" — have declared their intent to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant if they enter their territories.

"These decisions have undoubtedly emerged as a result of the honorable resistance put forth by the humanity front and their struggle for the Palestinian cause, for justice and fairness, and for the establishment of a world worthy of human dignity," he said.

The decision to issue the warrants reflect that "human dignity and human conscience have started to win," noted Kurtulmus, predicting that radical changes would take place in the emerging multi-polar world.

"It is no longer possible for a country or a region to rule and direct the world alone. We are entering a period in which a new power struggle and new power equations are being established, in which more than one power can be effective in all geographical regions of the world," he said.

"Hopefully, Türkiye will be one of the leading countries of this new era," Kurtulmus said, underlining the country's central position amid the conflict zones in its region.

Israel has launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in October last year, killing more than 44,000 people, most of them women and children, and injuring over 104,000.

It has also engaged in cross-border warfare with Lebanon, launching an air campaign in late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets. Over 3,600 people in Lebanon have been killed, with more than 15,300 injured and over a million displaced since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

The ICC announced in a landmark move on Thursday that it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on Gaza.