Turkey seeks international arrest warrants over citizen killed in West Bank

Ankara accuses Israel of killing Palestinian-American journalist in May

Turkey has requested international arrest warrants for three former Israeli officials over the killing of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot dead in the occupied West Bank in May, the country’s justice minister said on Tuesday.

Abu Akleh, a veteran reporter for the Al Jazeera news network, was killed on May 11 while covering an Israeli military raid in the Jenin refugee camp. An investigation by the United Nations found that she was likely killed by Israeli fire, while an Israeli military investigation said it was not possible to determine who fired the fatal shot.

In a statement, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said that Turkey had applied to Interpol for the arrest of three former Israeli officials, including former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, and former Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

“We have applied to Interpol for the issuance of red notices for the three suspects who ordered the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh,” Bozdağ said. “We will continue to pursue this case until the perpetrators are brought to justice.”

The move by Turkey is likely to further strain relations between the two countries, which have been tense in recent years over a number of issues, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Turkey’s support for the Hamas movement.

Israel has not yet commented on the Turkish request for arrest warrants.