Pro-Hamas march held in Istanbul after Erdogan slams ‘perfidious’ killing of Haniyeh
Demonstrators send ‘greetings to the resistance in Gaza,’ burn Israeli flag and hold up posters with images of Palestinian terror chief, who Turkish leader calls ‘my brother’
Thousands of pro-Hamas protesters marched through the streets of central Istanbul late on Wednesday to protest the killing of the Palestinian terror group’s leader Ismail Haniyeh.
Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran in an attack that drew threats of revenge on Israel and fueled further concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.
The demonstrators held posters with Haniyeh’s photos and banners reading, “Martyr Haniyeh, Jerusalem is our cause and your path is our path.”
Protesters were chanting “murderer Israel, get out of Palestine,” “thousands of greetings from Istanbul to the resistance in Gaza” and waving Turkish and Palestinian flags during the march in the Fatih district of Istanbul.
Demonstrators also burned an Israeli flag, AFP journalists saw.
“I am here because Israel martyred the representative of the Palestinian people,” said 44-year-old demonstrator Mehmet.
“The great powers have an important role to play. If they don’t prevent these massacres… history will accuse us of looking on.”
Earlier Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the “perfidious assassination” of his “brother” Haniyeh.
“May God have mercy on my brother Ismail Haniyeh, fallen in martyrdom after this odious attack,” Erdogan wrote on the X social media platform, denouncing “Zionist barbarity.”
“This shameful act aims to sabotage the Palestinian cause, the glorious Gazan resistance and our Palestinian brothers’ just fight, and to intimidate Palestinians,” Erdogan added.
Haniyeh, who spent much time in Turkey before the devastating Hamas-led October 7 terror onslaught against Israel that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, last paid a visit to Erdogan in Istanbul in April.
While Hamas is viewed as a terror organization by Israel, the European Union and NATO allies of Turkey like the US, Erdogan has described it as “a liberation movement.”
Since 2011 and an agreement that saw more than 1,000 Palestinian security prisoners — including Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas chief in Gaza accused of masterminding the October 7 atrocities — released in exchange for the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Turkey has sheltered Hamas leaders.
The Times of Israel Community.