Protest by HDK outside Israeli Consulate: We support the Palestinian people

In response to the Israeli bombing of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in besieged Gaza on October 17, where 500 lives were tragically lost, protests have been ongoing in front of the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul since last night.

Today, at 13:00, the People's Democratic Congress (HDK) held a press statement in front of the Consulate. The statement, read by HDK Co-Spokesperson Esengül Demir on behalf of the group, emphasized the significance of intersecting dimensions such as class, gender, ethnicity, and location when addressing deep poverty.

"We support the Palestinian people and their resistance in a country where all residents are equal citizens, where Arabs and Jews live together," the statement read.

"Gaza has been turned into an open-air prison," the statement continued. "The Israeli aircraft, which has been bombing Gaza for days with the aim of dehumanization, targeted El-Ehli Baptist Hospital yesterday, killing hundreds of Palestinians. It was previously announced that homes, hospitals, water sources, transportation and communication infrastructure would be targeted in the Israeli attacks, openly supported by the United States and European imperialist powers.

"Israel, which continuously expands and deepens its occupation in the Palestinian territories, has turned Gaza into an open-air prison since 2007 with the continuous blockade it has implemented. While Gaza is being bombed, the massacre continues in the occupied West Bank. Since October 7, Israeli troops and Zionist settlers have killed at least 61 Palestinians in the West Bank.

"The open genocide happening in front of the world's eyes is distorted, blatantly supported by imperialist powers through Western media sources and their instruments.

"However, we know that after the First World War and the emergence of the world order in the former Ottoman geography, nation-states appeared, while the two peoples of the region, the Kurds and Palestinians, and their territories were fragmented with different processes, deprived of the right to govern themselves and determine their own fate.

"Today, in Rojava, Kurds, who live together with the peoples, and Palestinians in Gaza are under the threat of genocide. The Saray regime, which has carried out the same actions in Rojava as the Zionist regime has done in Gaza, wants to exploit the sensitivity of our people to Palestine to cover up its own crimes.

"While taking advantage of the Palestine issue through rhetoric based on religious brotherhood, they continue their business partnership with Israel. Opposition party leaders, who once again voted in favor of the resolution for ethnic cleansing in Rojava, are talking about the Palestinian cause. They divert the discussion to Israel's war crimes to deflect attention from themselves. They jointly arm Azerbaijan, which implemented ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Karabakh/Artsakh.

"The Palestinian issue is not a religious conflict.

"Today, in Rojava, Kurds, who live together with the peoples, and Palestinians in Gaza are under the threat of genocide. The Saray regime, which has carried out the same actions in Rojava as the Zionist regime has done in Gaza, wants to exploit the sensitivity of our people to Palestine to cover up its own crimes.

"While taking advantage of the Palestine issue through rhetoric based on religious brotherhood, they continue their business partnership with Israel. Opposition party leaders, who once again voted in favor of the resolution for ethnic cleansing in Rojava, are talking about the Palestinian cause. They divert the discussion to Israel's war crimes to deflect attention from themselves. They jointly arm Azerbaijan, which implemented ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Karabakh/Artsakh.

"The Palestinian issue is not a religious conflict.

"We, as Turkish democracy forces, believe and support the democratic confederal home of the Middle East, nations, and peoples living together equally and freely. We support Palestine and its resistance in a country where all beliefs and identities are recognized, where all residents are equal citizens – where Arabs and Jews live together. We recognize the right to choose one's own means of resistance." (AD/AÖ)