A demonstration in support of Palestine took place at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Türkiye, which estimates put as high as 1.5 million, which some described as an ocean of people. Many held Palestinian flags, but even more were waving Turkish flags. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived by helicopter to address the crowd, where he spoke very strongly against Israel and in support of Palestinians. Excerpts of his speech follow:
“What was Gaza, Palestine in 1947? What is it today? Israel, how did you end up here? How did you get here? You are an occupier. You are a group, not a state,” Erdogan said. “The West owes you something. But we don’t owe you anything. That’s why we say these things so calmly.”
“Hey, West, I appeal to you! Do you want a war between the cross and the crescent moon? Then know this nation is alive, this nation is standing strong. What we were in Libya, what we were in Karabakh, we will be the same in the Middle East.”
“Israel, we will also declare you as a war criminal to the world, we are working on it…”
“Everyone knows that Israel is just a pawn in the region that can be sacrificed when the time comes. Those who shed crocodile tears for the civilians killed yesterday in the Ukrainian-Russian war are today silently watching the deaths of thousands of innocent children in the Gaza Strip. The West is responsible for what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The massacre there is entirely the work of the West.
“Today, some in Türkiye see Gaza as a distant area that doesn’t concern us Turks, while Gaza was an Ottoman city nearly 100 years ago. It was, for us, a city among our cities, just like Adana, Mardin, and Gaziantep are now. Türkiye will not be satisfied with just condemning what is happening in Gaza.”
Erdogan also said that “Hamas is not a terrorist organization,” a claim which he has made previously over recent days.
“Just as we opened our doors to our brothers in the past and stood with every oppressed, today we stand here for the oppressed in Gaza.… Of course, every country has the right to defend itself, but where is justice? There is no defense but an open, and vicious massacre going on in Gaza.”
Erdogan also accused Western countries of creating a “crusade war atmosphere” pitting Christians against Muslims. “Listen to our call for dialogue,” Erdogan said. “No one loses from a just peace.”
One unverified report included that Erdogan added that: “We can come at any night unexpectedly.” In response, the demonstrators started chanting: “Turkish military to Gaza!”
In response to Saturday’s event and Erdogan’s comments there, Israel said it was pulling its diplomats out of Türkiye to “reassess relations.” “In light of the escalating rhetoric from Türkiye, I have instructed the return of diplomatic representatives from Türkiye in order to reassess Israel-Türkiye relations,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a statement.
