Leaders of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition condemned the recent Israeli airstrike on a refugee camp in Rafah, Gaza, and called for Turkey to sever military and commercial relations with Israel, during a press statement on Monday.
Tuncer Bakırhan and Tülay Hatimoğulları, co-chairs of Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, criticised the Israeli government for “limitless massacres”, in particular the targeting of displaced Palestinians in Gaza.
“We strongly condemn the Israeli military’s aerial bombing of Palestinian refugee tents in Rafah. These relentless attacks are a clear indication of the Israeli government’s disregard for human life,” Hatimoğulları stated.
She also highlighted the need for a global response, saying, “The only way to stop this massacre is through worldwide solidarity with the oppressed people of Palestine and by urging governments to take a firm stand against Israel.”
Tuncer Bakırhan echoed these sentiments, calling out the silence or ineffective responses of global powers to the ongoing atrocities committed by the Netanyahu government.
“A great massacre is unfolding before the world’s eyes, targeting the helpless Palestinians. Either the world remains silent, making them complicit, or they fail to exhibit the strong will needed to stop Israel,” Bakırhan stated. He also issued a direct appeal for global citizens to protest and compel their governments to act against the massacre.
Bakırhan further criticised Turkey’s ruling party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), for its superficial reactions to the attacks on Palestinians and challenged them to take substantive action. “We call on the AKP to stop managing perceptions and to cut all military and commercial ties with Israel,” he urged.
This call for action follows reports from the Palestinian news agency WAFA that Israeli warplanes bombed areas near the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) warehouses in the northwest of Rafah on Sunday, killing some 35 displaced Palestinians at the refugee camp.
