Turkey officially asks Interpol to put Netanyahu on international wanted list

The Turkish government has sent an official request to Interpol to place Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the international wanted list, Sabah reported.

**Development of events:**

The Turkish government aims to place Netanyahu on the international wanted list through the "red notice" system. The request is based on arrest warrants issued by an Istanbul court on July 14, 2026.

This legal basis is a decision made as part of the investigation by the 11th Istanbul High Court into the Israeli seizure of the Global Sumud Flotilla humanitarian flotilla, which was heading to the Gaza Strip in May 2026. The flotilla also included Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.

A Turkish court has charged Netanyahu and about thirty other senior Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, his predecessor Yoav Galant, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, with crimes against humanity, genocide, unlawful imprisonment, cruel treatment, and plunder.

This is not the first time Ankara has acted. In November 2025, the Istanbul prosecutor's office issued national arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, accusing them of genocide in Gaza and obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid.

**What is a "red notice" and why is it not considered an arrest?**

An Interpol "red notice" is not an international arrest warrant in the classic sense. It is a request sent to the law enforcement agencies of the organization's 196 member countries, requesting that a person be located and, if necessary, temporarily detained pending extradition. Each country decides whether to execute such a request or not.

In addition, the Interpol charter prohibits the organization from interfering in political, military or religious affairs. The Israeli side is referring to this very clause. According to experts, this is also why Interpol is likely to reject Turkey's request.

It is worth noting that Netanyahu also has an active arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague in November 2024 on charges of war crimes. This warrant has not been executed by any country for almost two years.

**Israel's response:**

Netanyahu's office called this Turkish initiative ineffective and described it as an attempt by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to intimidate the Israeli leadership and army. Tel Aviv expressed its readiness to counter Ankara's attempts to destabilize the situation in the region and harm Israel's security.

Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called the warrants issued by Turkey a PR stunt by Erdogan and cited the arrest of Ekrem Imamoglu, a political opponent of the Turkish president - former mayor of Istanbul, as a sign of the politicization of the Turkish justice system.

According to media reports, against the backdrop of the worsening relations, Israel also appealed to Washington and asked not to supply weapons to Turkey for the Air Force.

**General situation:**

There is no bilateral extradition treaty between Turkey and Israel, which makes it almost impossible for Turkey to fulfill its demand in practice. Nevertheless, this step by Ankara is part of a chain of increasing diplomatic and legal pressure on the Israeli leadership against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.