Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday said that Israel should be taken to the International Criminal Court over its security forces' "crimes" against Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip.
Some 120 Palestinians were killed and thousands have been wounded since Hamas, the terrorist group that rules the coastal enclave launched its "March of Return" campaign on March 30.
The deadliest day of the border demonstrations came Monday, when 60 Palestinians were killed and 2,700 were wounded in mass riots near the security fence. The Israeli military said it had proof that at least 24 of the dead were known terrorists. On Tuesday, Hamas leaders admitted that 50 of those killed were operatives in its ranks.
Cavusoglu said that Turkey was looking at the legal steps that can be taken to bring Israel to the ICC.
"Since third parties cannot do it, Palestine needs to initiate this," he said, adding that Turkey has given the Palestinian Authority, which joined the ICC in January 2015 by becoming a signatory to the Rome Statute, legal advice on this matter.
He also called on the U.N. Human Rights Council to appoint an independent committee of inquiry.
"This crime against humanity should be probed by an independent commission and Israel should account for its actions before the law," he said.
Chief ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said Wednesday that her office "is vigilantly following developments on the ground and recording any alleged crime that may be subjected to legal scrutiny."
Monday's bloodshed earned Israel scathing international criticism. Turkey led the charge, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu trading verbal barbs as well as diplomatic blows: Erdogan called Israel a "terrorist state," and Netanyahu retorted that given Turkey's own gross infractions against the Kurdish people and its incursion into Syria, Erdogan has "no business preaching morality to Israel."
Ankara then recalled its ambassador to Jerusalem and expelled the Israeli ambassador and counsel general to Istanbul, while Israel responded in kind, ordering the Turkish consul in Jerusalem, who is responsible for Turkey's relations with the Palestinians, to leave the country.
The dispute appears to mark the worst diplomatic crisis between the two regional powers since the deadly 2010 raid on a Turkish vessel trying to breach the maritime blockade on Gaza.
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said Thursday that, "Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones." Still, he stressed that he was not recommending cutting diplomatic or economic ties with Ankara.
Meanwhile, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin called for restraint Thursday as the row between Israel and Turkey was gaining traction.
Rivlin, who visited a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip, called on both sides to tone down their rhetoric.
"I really think that we better, both sides, refrain from this dialogue because we are liable to regret what we say.
"President Erdogan always finds a way to criticize and blame Israel when he knows very well that what we have to do and what we are doing is protecting our borders from anyone who would like to threaten Israel's very existence. So don't say anything you will regret later," he said.
