From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 1, 2024
‘Go and fight in Palestine’: Relatives of Turkey hostages angered over attacker’s supposed pro-Gaza protest
Turkey’s DHA now reports that only one assailant took hostages at a Proctor and Gamble plant in Turkey.
AFP reporters say anti-riot police were seen moving closer to the plant as the crisis stretched into the night.
The attacker posted repeatedly on Instagram, including claiming that he offered to free one hostage, who refused to leave in solidarity with the others.
Relatives who gathered outside the factory had followed the Instagram account before it became accessible. They expressed anger that the attacker would choose to protest Israel’s war on Hamas by targeting workers in Turkey — a country strongly supportive of the Palestinian cause.
“He supposedly does this for Islam, but they are the ones who harm Islam the most,” Sedat Degirmenci, whose son-in-law was taken hostage, tells AFP.
“If you do this for Palestine, go and fight there,” adds Cigdem Aydemir, the mother of a 26-year-old woman taken hostage at the plant.
“What does my daughter have to do with this?” says Aydemir. “I can only pray.”
The Times of Israel Community.