Tens of thousands of people took to its streets Istanbul today New Year to demonstrate against “PKK and Israeli terrorism” and in favor of its Palestinians Gaza Strip, with the march of the demonstrators reaching over and around the Galata Bridge. Among the protesters was one of the sons of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to the Turkish news agency Anadolu, “Hundreds of thousands” of protesters responded to the call of a platform of more than 300 organizations and associations to gather in the demonstration dominated by slogans such as: “Redemption to our martyrs, support to Palestine, curse to Israel”.
Twelve Turkish soldiers were killed in northern Iraq in late December in two attacks attributed to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, President Erdogan, a traditional supporter of the Palestinian cause, has adopted harsh rhetoric against Israel, also denouncing US support for the Israeli government.
The large crowd of protesters carrying Turkish and Palestinian flags began gathering early in the morning towards the Galata Bridge and spread along the European side of Istanbul shouting “Death in Israel, Out of Palestine” and “God is Great,” according to an AFP reporter.
A huge banner in the colors of the Palestinian flag was hung in the middle of the bridge, and protesters also hung caricatures of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a Hitler moustache.
Last week, Erdogan compared Netanyahu to Hitler, saying: “…Are what Netanyahu is doing less than what Hitler did? No”.
Bilal Erdogan, the Turkish leader's second son, also addressed the protesters saluting the army “martyrs” killed in Iraq: “our prayers are our best weapons to get out of the darkness…”. “I have been to the West Bank, to Jerusalem, to Gaza: the people there put their hopes in Turkey and in Recep Tayyip Erdogan”he told the assembled crowd.
Presenting himself as a staunch supporter of political Islam, Bilal Erdogan, 42, chairman of the “Youth and Education Foundation” which co-organized the demonstration, is being touted as a possible successor to his father in the country's leadership.
Source: News Beast
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