Police in Turkey Fire Tear Gas to Disperse Anti-Israel Protesters
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Riot police fired tear gas and used water cannons (TOMA) on Friday to disperse demonstrators, protesting against Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza, as several Turkish lawmakers rallied in support of Palestinians.
Several members of Parliament joined the protest in Ankara, and ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) deputy Murat Yildirim addressed the protesting crowd.
“The occupying Israel has made a bloodbath of Palestine by bombing them for the past 15 days. Now we are here as the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Parliament is in recess now and will remain so tomorrow,” Yildirim said.
AKP Parliamentary Group Head Ahmet Aydin described Israel’s Gaza operation as “state terror", Hurriyet Daily News reported.
The protest in Istanbul started at 01:30 am in front of the Israeli consulate in the Levent neighborhood. Demonstrators waved Turkish and Palestinian flags, chanting slogans such as “Hail to the resistance from Istanbul to Gaza,” “Murderer Israel, get out of Palestine” and “Strike, strike Hamas; strike against Israel.”
A group among the protesters climbed the wall of the consulate at 02:30 am and smashed the building’s windows with sticks and stones. Police intervened as they attempted to break the door to enter the consulate.
The group was dispersed with TOMAs and tear gas, before briefly pelting the police with stones. A second attack on the consulate was again avoided by police intervention.
Meanwhile in Ankara, protesters threw rocks at the Israeli ambassador’s residence, with windows shattered and a Palestinian flag hung on the house’s wall. The police kept the protesters from entering the garden, but did not attempt to stop them from pelting the residence with stones.
