Overview
- On Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, Turkey asked Interpol to issue Red Notices for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Afek Moskovitch in connection with a Turkish court case over the Global Sumud flotilla.
- Istanbul prosecutors have charged the two and other Israelis with genocide, crimes against humanity and a range of offences tied to Israel’s 2025 interception of the flotilla that detained hundreds of activists including dozens of Turkish nationals.
- Turkey’s Justice Ministry said it forwarded the paperwork to its Interior and Foreign Ministries to begin the international search process while noting Interpol will review the request.
- Israel’s government strongly condemned the move and exchanged sharp rhetoric with Ankara after recent Israeli strikes on a Syrian airbase, raising immediate diplomatic tensions between the two countries.
- A Red Notice would ask member states to locate and provisionally detain the named individuals but would not compel arrests, and past Turkish attempts to pursue flotilla-related arrests through international channels produced no detentions.