Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of Fatih, in the historic centre of Istanbul, in support of Palestine and to protest against Israel‘s seven-month-old offensive in Gaza, which has killed around 35,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of them women and children. The protest, called by the Humanitarian Aid Foundation (İHH, the same that organised the Freedom Flotilla), started from the Fatih Mosque and ended at Edirnekapı, near the historic walls of Istanbul, under slogans such as “Murderous Israel, get out of Palestine”.
In a speech to the protesters, İHH chairman Bülent Yıldırım assured that activists from around a hundred countries around the world will take part in the new Freedom Flotilla. “Our first ship will arrive in two or three days, it will go to Al-Arish (Egypt), and they will enter through the Rafah crossing,” Yıldırım said, adding that at least 20 ships with humanitarian aid are expected to leave for Gaza. “Our first ship has already left… it will arrive in Germany in a few days, and other ships will join it. The president of South Africa has expressed his support for the flotilla. The United Nations has also said that these ships must be protected,” he added.
Uğur Yıldırım, another prominent member of İHH, denounced to the demonstrators gathered in Istanbul that Israel is attacking Palestinians by land, sea and air. “International law is being violated in front of the eyes of the whole world. Israel is committing a crime of genocide, the murder of an entire people in Gaza“.
Frank Romano, a French-American international lawyer and analyst of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict who was also present at the protest, told the crowd that Western governments are doing nothing to stop the genocide in Gaza. “Unfortunately, the countries of which I am a citizen are sending arms to Israel to support this genocide,” he lamented.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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