Turkey on Wednesday filed an official request to join South Africa's genocide case against Israel over its conduct in the war in Gaza in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague, the foreign ministry said, according to Reuters.
Turkey had announced in May that it had decided to join the case - formally known as submitting a declaration of official intervention - and would make the necessary legal preparations.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan said it had made the formal request on Wednesday.
"The international community must do its part to stop the genocide and exert the necessary pressure on Israel and its supporters. "Turkey will make every effort to do so," Fidan wrote on social media site X.
South Africa filed the case against Israel at the ICJ in December of last year, accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention during its attacks in Gaza.
On January 26, the ICJ handed down a ruling in South Africa’s case, saying that Israel must do everything to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza and take "immediate" measures for aid provisions. It did not, however, order Israel to stop the war in Gaza.
A group of several countries have sought to join the South African lawsuit, including Chile, Mexico, Brazil and Indonesia.
The Palestinian Authority has also filed an application with the ICJ to join South Africa as a party in its Gaza genocide case against Israel.
Turkey’s move comes as no surprise, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has resumed his frequent verbal attacks on Israel in recent months, since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel and the war in Gaza which followed.
In one speech, the Turkish President said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “committed one of the greatest atrocities of this century in Gaza and has already put his name down in history as the butcher of Gaza."
More recently, Erdogan threatened to invade Israel, saying, "We must be strong so Israel won't be able to do these things to the Palestinians. Just as we entered Karabakh and Libya, we will do the same to Israel. There's nothing left to do, we must be strong."
He then continued to lash out at Israel, claiming that Israel "committed acts of barbarism that will outshine and that "Gaza has become the world's largest concentration camp."