Hasan Turan, the head of the Türkiye-Palestine parliamentary friendship group, commented on the recent developments in Palestine and Israel to the Turkish daily newspaper Aydınlık.
Uwidata translated from Turkish into English.
“Israel is an occupying and expansionist state”
The head of the Türkiye-Palestine parliamentary friendship group Hasan Turan pointed out that Israel’s attacks on Palestine have been going on for many years. He emphasized that Israel is an occupier:
“These attacks have been continuing for years. It is said that Hamas started the conflict, as if Israel had never attacked before.
Firstly, we need a change in terminology and concepts. The territories that Hamas entered are lands that Israel had stolen from Palestine. When you look at the developments through Western optics, you start to regard the oppressed as oppressors and the oppressor as oppressed. If you examine the changes from the Ottoman period in 1917 till 1948, or from 1948 to 1967, or from 1967 to the present, you can see who is the occupier is and who is the terrorist. One truth is clear: Israel is an occupying and expansionist state. It is invading Palestinian lands every day.
Solution: Free Palestinian state with Jerusalem as capital
Turan noted that Gaza has been bombed thousands of times and civilians have lost their lives. He explained that the solution lies in the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital:
“In response to bombardment of Gaza, we observe only silence in the international community and the EU. Rather, they often stand with Israel. Anyone who says anything else than, ‘Israel has the right to defend itself’ is guilty. Aren’t Palestinians human beings? We have been standing by the just cause of the Palestinian people from the very beginning. Our President and government officials have always said: As long as a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem is not established, expecting peace in the region is just a futile effort. This is the solution. If you occupy Palestinian lands every day, does the Palestinian people do not have the right to resist?”
“We do not accept this world order”
Turan also criticized the stance of the US and the European Union:
“First, a ceasefire must be established to stop the bloodshed. Then, negotiations should pave the way and the entire world must agree to the independent, sovereign, and free Palestine state. Instead of sending warships, further provoking the conflict, and standing with the occupying state, the US should make a just decision. The EU too. They talk about democracy and human rights; aren’t Palestinians human beings? We do not accept this world order: Mercy to the oppressor and oppression to the oppressed… This world order must change.”