Palestine’s Mahmoud Abbas faces protest in Turkish parliament

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas faced a protest from nationalist MPs during his address to Turkey's parliament yesterday. 

The protest by Good (İYİ) Party deputies stemmed from Abbas’s earlier remarks regarding the Uighur Muslim minority in China, which he said “isn’t a human rights issue.” During his visit to China in June 2023, Abbas hailed China’s treatment of Uighur Muslims, which includes the placement of more than a million people in internment camps, as “legitimate fight against terrorism.”

In a show of dissent, İYİ deputies placed flags of East Turkistan, the symbol of the Uighur independence movement, as well as of Azerbaijan and Iraqi Turkmen Front, alongside Palestinian flags on their tables in the parliament.

The party’s leader, Musavat Dervişoğlu, said on social media that they wanted to show that they stand with the oppressed people in those countries as well. The remarks of Cenk Özatıcı, the party's deputy chair, were stronger as he described Abbas "an enemy of the Turks" during an interview with Halk TV.

Intention to visit Gaza

Ahead of his address to the parliament, Abbas held meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the parliament’s Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş.

Opening the session where Abbas was hosted, Kurtulmuş said,  “For us, the Palestinian cause is a national cause,” emphasizing Turkey's commitment to supporting Palestine until the establishment of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

Taking the floor after Kurtulmuş, Abbas opened his speech with a verse from the Quran, urging patience and perseverance, and later paid tribute to the victims of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

In his speech, Abbas condemned Israel's actions in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem, accusing Israel of attempting to erase the Palestinian presence through genocide. He also criticized the US for using its veto power in the UN Security Council to block resolutions condemning Israel’s actions, labeling the US as a "plague" and holding it responsible for exacerbating the situation.

Finally, Abbas announced his intention to visit Gaza and East Jerusalem, pledging to continue the struggle for an independent Palestinian state, no matter the cost. He also called on the international community to take action against Israel’s violations of international law and urged further recognition of the Palestinian state. (VK)