Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed an interministerial team and the head of the International Law Department at the Justice Ministry to prepare a comprehensive legal case against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, i24NEWS legal analyst Avishai Grinzaig reported on Sunday evening.
The directive follows a series of escalating moves by Erdogan against Israel, including his announcement last month that he had approached Interpol in an effort to advance Netanyahu's arrest.
According to the report, the Israeli legal initiative will focus on Erdogan's actions against the Kurdish population, as well as his connections to Hamas and the terrorist organization's financing.
Israel could submit the case directly to the international court in The Hague, although the report indicates that submission through a third party is considered the more likely option.
However, filing the case is not necessarily Israel's intended outcome. According to i24NEWS, Israeli officials hope that preparing the legal proceedings and maintaining the option of submitting them will serve as a deterrent against further actions by the Turkish President.
The report comes days after Netanyahu sharply criticized Erdogan during his address to the United Nations on Thursday.
"The latest country to become a super-spreader of antisemitic lies is Turkey," Netanyahu declared.
"Erdogan is a tyrant who also hosts the Hamas terror chiefs," he continued, accusing the Turkish President of murdering thousands of Kurdish civilians, denying the Armenian genocide, and imprisoning journalists and opposition figures.
Netanyahu also accused Erdogan of illegally occupying Northern Cyprus, violating Greece's sovereignty, seeking control of Syria, and repeatedly calling for Israel's destruction.
Addressing Erdogan's stated ambitions concerning Jerusalem, Netanyahu declared: "No, Sir. You won't. This is our country, our city, our eternal capital."
Netanyahu declined to comment to i24NEWS on the legal initiative, as did professional officials at the Justice Ministry.