ADANA, Turkey, Nov 5 (Portal) – Turkish police used tear gas and water cannons as hundreds of people at a pro-Palestinian rally on Sunday tried to storm an air base housing U.S. troops, hours before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due in Ankara for talks on Gaza.
Turkey, which has stepped up its criticism of Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens, supports a two-state solution while hosting members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Since the war between Israel and Hamas began, there have been protests across the country.
Earlier this week, the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, an Islamist Turkish aid organization, organized a convoy to Incirlik Air Base in Adana province, southern Turkey, to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza and U.S. support for Israel.
Incirlik, which was used to support the international coalition fighting the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, also hosts U.S. troops. The IHH protest called for the closure of Incirlik.
Footage of the protests showed police firing tear gas and using water cannons to disperse crowds, waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting slogans. Demonstrators toppled barricades and clashed with police in riot gear.
[1/3]Turkish police use water cannons and tear gas to disperse pro-Palestinian demonstrators during a protest against the U.S. and Israel near the Incirlik air base, where U.S. troops are stationed, in Adana, southern Turkey, Nov. 5, 2023. Portal/Dilara Senkaya ACQUIRES LICENSE RIGHTS
Protesters were also seen throwing plastic chairs, rocks and other objects at police, who fired smoke bombs into the crowd. There were scuffles between the crowd and the security forces
IHH President Bülent Yildirim addressed the crowds in Adana and urged them to refrain from attacking the police.
“Friends, it is wrong to throw stones or do similar things, because both the police and the soldiers would want to go to Gaza and fight, and they will leave when the time comes,” he said.
“Our anger is huge. We can’t hold them back. But Turkey is doing what it can,” he added. Due to clashes with police, the IHH ended its rally earlier than planned.
The rally comes hours before Blinken is expected to arrive in Ankara for talks on Gaza with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Monday and after Ankara’s repeated criticism of the West over its support for Israel.
Reporting by Dilara Senkaya, Murad Sezer, Mehmet Emin Caliskan and Ali Kucukgocmen; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Giles Elgood
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