Israel's attack on the Sumud Fleet was protested in Turkey

Friends of Palestine staged a demonstration in front of the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul

ISTANBUL — A crowd gathered in response to a call from the Palestine Action Committee assembled at the Levent Metro exit and then marched to the Israeli Consulate in Levent.

The protest was joined by New Democratic Youth, New Democratic Women, Partizan, the Struggle Union, the Free University Movement, Kaldıraç, numerous democratic mass organisations, and members of the Palestine Action Committee.

Throughout the march, slogans such as ‘Greetings to Palestine, a thousand greetings to the resistance’, ‘Free Palestine from the river to the sea’, ‘Murderous Israel, collaborator USA’, and ‘Collaborator AKP’ were chanted. The police particularly tried to prevent the chanting of the slogan ‘Murderous Israel, collaborator AKP’.

Intense security measures, including the presence of water cannons around the consulate, were notable.

Reading a press statement on behalf of the Palestine Action Committee, Nihle Kalem condemned Israel's attacks on Gaza with the following words:

"The occupying state of Israel continues its genocidal attacks, which it has been carrying out for two years under heavy siege, with its invasion of Gaza. The number of people who have lost their lives in these attacks has exceeded 65,000, while the number of those who have died of starvation due to the blockade has exceeded 450. The Palestinian people continue to resist with all their might.‘

Kalem also criticised the silence of international institutions, saying:

’The Zionist regime has not faced any serious sanctions to date. Collaborating states and global companies are supporting these attacks. The “peace plan” imposed by the US is a colonial project that forces the Palestinian people into submission."

The press release also drew attention to the attack on the Sumud Fleet, which set sail to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. Kalem emphasised that the Israeli navy had abducted more than 200 activists, stating:

“While the friends of the Palestinian people continue their journey in the Mediterranean to break the blockade, ships continue to travel between Turkish and Israeli ports. This amounts to supporting genocide.”

Criticising Turkey's stance, Kalem stated that the government's rhetoric contradicts its actions:

‘The political power in Turkey engages in pro-Palestinian rhetoric every day, but when the Sumud Fleet was attacked, it merely issued condemnations instead of providing protection. Meanwhile, the Israeli army uses oil transported from Turkey, and military bases provide intelligence flows.’

The press statement concluded with the following words:

"While the Palestinian people are fighting for their existence, we will keep this complicity in our sights. We will continue the struggle and solidarity with the Palestinian people until a full embargo is declared on Israel and this illegitimate regime is isolated. Our course is the course of the Sumud Fleet.

We will intensify the struggle with the spirit of intifada until Palestine is free from river to sea."

The action concluded with slogans chanted following the statement.

Israel's attack on the Sumud Fleet was protested in Izmir

İZMİR- At the action organised by revolutionary-progressive organisations including Partizan and Yeni Demokrat Gençlik (YDG), a banner was unfurled reading ‘Open the way for the Sumud fleet, lift the blockade! End the occupation and genocide in Palestine!’

During the action held in front of the Alsancak Türkan Saylan Cultural Centre, the crowd frequently chanted slogans such as ‘The imperialists will lose, the resisting peoples will win’, ‘Murderer Israel, get out of Palestine’, and ‘Free Palestine from the river to the sea’.

In a press statement, it was noted that the Israeli state had added yet another crime against humanity to its record by attacking the aid flotilla, composed of civilians from dozens of countries and hundreds of people, which had set sail to break the hunger blockade imposed on Gaza and oppose the occupation and genocide in Palestine, and by taking people hostage.

The statement said that the barbarism, occupation, genocide and blockade of imperialist-Zionist forces were being experienced in all their brutality in Gaza before the eyes of the whole world, and that the countries in the region, particularly Turkey, were pursuing a hypocritical policy.

The statement emphasised that workers, labourers and peoples in many countries around the world are showing growing solidarity with Palestine and that calls for strikes in support of Palestine are being made. It stated that all of humanity must rise up and increase its struggle and solidarity to stop imperialist-Zionist aggression.

Police attacked a crowd in Ankara who wanted to protest against Israel

ANKARA- Following the attack on the Global Sumud Fleet by the occupying Israeli forces, the Ankara Labour and Democracy Forces, of which Partizan is a member, wanted to march from Yüksel Street to Güvenpark. The crowd gathered on Yüksel Street continued to wait, chanting slogans, but the Governor's Office did not allow the march to proceed.

Despite the refusal to permit the march, the crowd did not abandon their intention to march.

As soon as the march began, police attacked the crowd with barricades, and the resisting crowd was surrounded. Press workers attempting to document the violence were removed by police. Numerous individuals were detained. Approximately nine people, including a reader of New Democratic Youth (YDG), were detained.

‘Apply the violence you are using against us to Israel!’

After the siege was broken, a press statement was made on Yüksel Street. The following statements were made in the press statement:

"Our friends have been arrested. There is no legal basis for these arrests. I am calling out to the Ankara police from here: stop these illegal practices! Release our friends. Take the violence you have shown us, the attacks you have shown us, and direct them towards Israeli Zionism."
Following the statement, the crowd marched towards Selanik Street chanting slogans.