Turkey has formally requested an Interpol 'red notice' for Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking the arrest of the Israeli leader over allegations that Israel abused flotilla activists.

The request, reported by The New York Times, came at a time of escalating tensions between Turkey and Israel.

A red notice is a mechanism through which one country asks law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition. Turkey's move signals a sharp deterioration in relations between the two governments.

The development underscores how disputes over the treatment of activists have become a flashpoint in the broader diplomatic rift, with Turkey taking the unusual step of pursuing international legal action against a sitting head of government.