Outcry in Türkiye has been one of the most intense among global protests against Israel’s brutal war on Gaza, which is now in its seventh week, data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) showed.
Protests have been held across the globe since Israel unleashed a relentless war on Gaza that has killed thousands of civilians in response to an unprecedented Hamas incursion on Oct. 7.
To voice support for Gaza, tens of thousands of people from all over the world participated in these demonstrations.
The primary demand in these protests was an end to the massacre in Gaza, and ensuring humanitarian access to the region.
According to ACLED's report covering the first three weeks of the ongoing conflicts, over 4,200 protests were organized worldwide, demanding recognition of Palestinian rights and an independent state.
Of these protests, 3,700 were pro-Palestinian, and 520 were pro-Israel.
The pro-Palestinian demonstrations protested the deaths of thousands of people, 40% of whom were children, in Israeli attacks and called for a permanent cease-fire.
In pro-Israel demonstrations, the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas was protested, and the release of Israeli prisoners was demanded.
The highest number of pro-Palestinian protests occurred in Yemen with 490, followed by 357 in Türkiye, 276 in Iran and 267 in Morocco.
Across Türkiye, from Istanbul to the capital Ankara, to eastern cities of Diyarbakır and Batman, people wearing scarfs with colors of the Palestinian flag and carrying banners denouncing Israel as “baby killer” took to the streets for days on end.
About 100 people lit flares and helped hold up anti-war banners under heavy rain outside the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul last month while public agencies, municipalities, universities and even the Turkish Parliament have announced a boycott of goods of Israeli origin.
Most notably, tens of thousands of people gathered in Istanbul for the Great Palestine Meeting on Oct. 28 where President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called Israel an “occupier” in Gaza and repeated his stance about Hamas not being a terrorist organization.
He told Palestinian and Turkish flags-waving crowds that Western powers were “the main culprit” behind the Israeli army’s “massacre” of Palestinians in Gaza.
Days later, Ankara recalled its ambassador to Israel, just as Israel did, by withdrawing its diplomats, citing security reasons.
When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Ankara for talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan earlier this month, dozens of anti-American protestors held up anti-U.S. and anti-Israel placards outside the Foreign Ministry. The same day, a group of students marched to the ministry chanting, “Murderer Blinken, get out of Türkiye!”
A day earlier, pro-Palestinian protestors clashed with Turkish riot police outside the U.S.-Turkish Incirlik military air base in the southeastern city of Adana.
Türkiye champions the Palestinian cause for independence and advocates a two-state solution to the conflict. After the Israeli attacks, it has been more critical of Israel and plans to take the Israeli leaders to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes.
It has also called on Washington not to support Israel’s actions in Gaza and de-escalate the conflict.
While the Western media highlighted pro-Palestinian protests in London, Berlin, and Washington, ACLED noted that the Middle Eastern and North African populations showed the fastest and strongest reactions with approximately 1,400 protests in the first three weeks.
Global demonstrations surged after Israel ordered the evacuation of northern Gaza on Oct. 13 and its attack on the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital on Oct. 17.
The U.S. hosted the most protests with over 600 demonstrations. Both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests took place in the country.
The pro-Palestinian march in Washington stood out as one of the most attended events in recent years, with an estimated 300,000 people flooding the Freedom Plaza.
Approximately 170 protests were also held in the German capital Berlin while the largest pro-Palestine rally held in the U.K. saw an estimated 1 million people rally in London on Nov. 12.
Last week, some 60,000 people marched through central Paris in torrential rain behind a banner saying "Halt the massacre in Gaza and West Bank, immediate cease-fire.” A further 40,000 gathered in dozens of other towns across the country.
Elsewhere in Europe, thousands marched in Geneva, Amsterdam, Lisbon and Poland and Sarajevo to draw international attention to the situation.
The conflict has sparked tensions within European states, too, with Spain and Ireland calling for a cease-fire and other governments like Berlin more supportive of Israel.
In Spain, Cabinet members like Ione Belarra called for the country to completely cut diplomatic ties with Israel and sanction its leaders while 900 Spanish medical professionals signed a petition calling on Spain and the EU to stop collaborating with Israel and call for an immediate cease-fire.
In Latin America, too, the backlash to Israeli aggression has been strong, with Colombia and Cuba accusing Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza and recalling their ambassadors from Tel Aviv while Bolivia cut ties altogether.
Tens of thousands of Cubans on Thursday marched in front of the U.S. Embassy in Havana charging Israel with genocide against Palestinians and calling for a free Palestine.
Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, killing more than 14,854 Palestinians, including over 6,150 children and 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave.
Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also been damaged or destroyed in Israel's air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave.
The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.
A four-day truce took effect early on Friday, which will see Hamas exchange 50 hostages seized on Oct. 7 for 150 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
