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Turkiye: protestors condemn Israeli violence at Al-Aqsa Mosque

April 6, 2023 at 10:19 am

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators shout slogans as they take part in a protest in Ankara on April 5, 2023 [ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images]

Four Turkish cities witnessed protests yesterday against the violent raid by Israeli security forces at Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem overnight on Tuesday, Anadolu has reported. Protestors gathered in Diyarbakir, Bingol and Batman in the south east of the country, and Eskisehir in the north west.

Civil society groups organised the protests, including the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH). Participants called on the Turkish people to support the Palestinians in the face of the ongoing Israeli attacks at the Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa.

In Batman, protestors gathered on Golestan Street in response to an appeal by the Freedom of Thought and Expression movement. From the platform, Sahmus Unlu told them that Israeli forces attack Al-Aqsa Mosque every Ramadan. He called on Muslims worldwide to “take immediate action and not remain silent in the face of these injustices.”

On Wednesday morning, Israeli police arrested hundreds of Palestinians inside Al-Qibli prayer hall in the Noble Sanctuary after brutally assaulting them in horrific scenes caught on camera. The video images have gone viral on social media.

Tensions have been escalating in occupied East Jerusalem and its suburbs ever since the formation of the latest Israeli coalition government led by Benjamin Netanyahu late last year. The coalition has even been described in the Hebrew-language media as “the most extreme in Israel’s history.”

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