Nonprofit organizations will stage a rally in Istanbul on Sunday, one day before the anniversary of the start of a new round of the Palestine-Israel conflict. Under the slogans of “Gaza is resisting for 365 days” and “patience, fight, and victory,” the rally will be a demonstration of support for Hamas and the people of Gaza subjected to Israel’s genocidal attacks.
Support for the Palestine Platform, together with several organizations, will stage the rally at Üsküdar Square on the city’s Asian side. Organizers said the rally will salute the resistance of Hamas and the Aqsa Flood operation.
A similar rally will be held in Ankara capital on the same day organizers expect thousands to show up.
The Turkish public has been vocal in criticism of Israel and, for weeks, staged demonstrations against Israeli oppression of Palestinians. Though demonstrations are less frequent now, nonprofit groups occasionally stage mass rallies in big cities while a boycott of brands endorsing Israel grows. More prominent among the rallies are those organized by the Humanitarian Aid Foundation (IHH), a major charity that lost several members when it tried to break the blockade on Gaza in 2010 during the notorious Mavi Marmara incident. Eight Turkish citizens were killed when Israel raided the said vessel, which was part of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called Israel a "terrorist state" and accused it of carrying out a genocide in Gaza. He has expressed full support for Hamas and rejected the Western stance of classifying it as a terrorist organization.
Türkiye, through state agencies and charities operated by nonprofit groups, has also dispatched tons of aid to Egypt for delivery to Gaza, either by military planes or vessels.
Pro-Palestine rallies are set to be held across the world over the weekend on the anniversary of the new round of the conflict, though some countries already started imposing bans on them. The City of Frankfurt, Germany, announced a ban on such rallies on Thursday, citing public safety concerns. Same "concerns" were voiced by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who called for the cancellation of a rally scheduled for Sunday that could be "incredibly provocative," as media outlets reported on Wednesday.
