A Palestinian university student has been detained in İstanbul and faces deportation after protesting Turkey’s role in Azerbaijan’s oil trade with Israel.
Members of the 1000 Youth for Palestine (Filistin İçin Bin Genç) movement staged the protest on Aug 24 during the premiere of the documentary “Holy Redemption” produced by TRT World, the English network of the Turkish public broadcaster, about Israeli violations in Palestine’s West Bank.
They displayed a banner that read, “Erdoğan stop feeding oil to zionists! End complicity on genocide!” This refers to Turkey's role in the oil trade between Azerbaijan and Israel, with Azerbaijani oil transported through a pipeline to Turkey's southern coast and then shipped to Israel.
"We all came here with spiritual feelings, but there is a hypocritical situation here. Everyone should hear this: Turkey is currently complicit in this genocide," the Palestinian student said during the protest, a video released by the youth movement shows. "The Azerbaijani company SOCAR is shipping oil to Israel through Turkey. You have to see this. I am Palestinian, you have to know about this cooperation. Turkey is complicit in this genocide."
Footage of the protest:
📌 Trt World belgesel gösteriminde eylem gerçekleştirdik
— Filistin İçin Bin Genç (@filistinicinbin) August 24, 2024
Türkiye'den İsrail'e her gün varillerce petrol giderken bu işbirliğini belgesel yaparak gizleyemezsiniz! @trtworld
Gerçeği haykıran gençler her zaman ve her yerde karşınıza çıkacak! pic.twitter.com/HjnMUMG6su
The group reported that the Palestinian student heard in the video was detained after the protest and subsequently sent to the Arnavutköy Removal Center in İstanbul. The student also holds Jordanian citizenship, which may be considered in the event of a repatriation decision.
Turkey's response to the Gaza war
The Turkish government has condemned Israel's war on Gaza as genocide but has faced criticism for maintaining economic ties with Israel despite this stance.
In the face of criticism, Ankara implemented trade sanctions against Israel in April, imposing export restrictions on 54 product groups. The restrictions were intensified on May 2, with the announcement that all trade would be suspended until the Israeli government allowed a continuous and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The effectiveness of these measures has been questioned, however, as official data show that bilateral trade continued at a similar volume despite the sanctions.
Turkey continues trade with Israel despite 'Gaza' sanctions, official data shows
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