ISTANBUL, August 7. /TASS/. Turkey has filed an application with the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) to join South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel, the TRT Haber television channel reported.

According to the television channel, the 47-page document was submitted to the court by Turkish Ambassador to the Hague Selcuk Unal and a Turkish parliamentary delegation. The text of the document is expected to be posted on the court’s website within days.

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Oncu Keceli said that Ankara’s application is based on article 63 of the ICJ Statute. "No world country is above international law. The case that is being considered by the International Court of Justice has great significance because Israel’s crimes must not remain unpunished," he wrote on his X account. He called on the Israeli authorities to stop attacks on Gaza and open the Rafah crossing to ensure uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian enclave, as ruled by the court in the Hague earier.

Plans to lodge an appeal with the IJC on August 7 were announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He repeatedly called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal who needs to be brought to responsibility for crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

In late December 2023, South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel before the UN's highest court, citing the Genocide Convention. On January 26, the ICJ ordered that Israel take all necessary measures to prevent acts of genocide in the Palestinian enclave. Later, the court demanded that Israel immediately stop its military operation in Rafah and keep the Rafah crossing open for deliveries of humanitarian cargoes to the Palestiian enclave.