2 days ago 3

Nearly 500,000 Join Pro-Palestinian Rally in Istanbul – Organizers

ISTANBUL (Sputnik) - Some 450,000 politicians and activists are taking part in a pro-Palestinian rally in Istanbul on Wednesday, condemning Israel’s military operations, one of organizers, the non-governmental organization TUGVA, said.

"There are 450,000 our citizens here today, adults and children, who stand with humanity and the Palestinian people," TUGVA’s chair, Beytullah Cicen, told the Haberturk broadcaster.

The public rally is being held under the motto "Hagia Sophia yesterday, Umayyad Mosque today, Al-Aqsa Mosque tomorrow," with over 300 NGOs taking part in the event.

"We have come here today to condemn genocide in Gaza and to express our solidarity with Palestine. We have seen the Hagia Sophia reopened [for worship] and the Umayyad Mosque [in Syria] liberated, and we are here today in support of the Al-Aqsa Mosque," the son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Bilal, said at the rally.

A Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag. - Sputnik International, 1920, 01.01.2025

World

Fatah's Journey: One Movement's Struggle for Liberation of Palestine Through Decades

09:00 GMT

He also told the CNN Turk broadcaster that the events in Syria provide hope for the Gaza Strip, as the West is "unable to prevent the genocide."

The Turkish leader has repeatedly said that Turkiye is the only country that has imposed economic sanctions on Israel and completely stopped trading with it.