Istanbul, Türkiye – A “Palestine freedom convoy” is en route from Istanbul to a US military base in southern Turkey, in solidarity with the people of Gaza, as Israel wages war against the besieged enclave.
Cars and vans flying Palestinian flags and some Turkish flags left Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium on Friday morning and headed toward the city of Adana, where Incirlik Air Base is located.
The Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), the Turkish nonprofit organization that organized the event, said hundreds of vehicles were heading toward the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Friday afternoon, with many more demonstrators are expected to join them as the convoy stops at towns along the way. covering almost 1,000 km (620 miles).
Convoys from three other Turkish cities – Kahramanmaras, Kayseri and Van – were also due to reach Adana on Sunday, where demonstrators plan to surround Incirlik Air Base to protest US support for Israel and call for a cease-fire. -fire in Gaza.
The U.S. and Turkish air forces are the primary users of the air base, which was used to fly combat missions over Iraq during the first Gulf War and launch airstrikes on Afghanistan. The base has also been used by the US-led coalition fighting ISIL (ISIS).
A white bus with a banner reading “Palestinian Freedom Convoy” stood out among dozens of vehicles leaving Istanbul, joined by local pro-Palestinian groups and international activists.
Protesters, including families with children, gathered in a large parking lot where they held signs with slogans such as “We are all Palestinians” and “You cannot be silent.”
“People were very excited to go to the US air base,” Mary Annette Wright, a 77-year-old retired US army colonel and former US diplomat who participated in the protest, told Al Jazeera .
Turkey has taken a strong and critical stance towards Israel’s actions. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled a trip to Israel in late October over what he called an “inhumane” war on Gaza. Addressing a large pro-Palestinian rally last week, Erdogan also called Israel an “occupier.”
Wright, who resigned from his post over the Iraq War in 2003, is part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a solidarity movement that has launched several campaigns to raise awareness and challenge Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which now lasts more than 16 years and has become a “total siege” since the war began on October 7, meaning Israel stopped deliveries of food, fuel, water and medical supplies.
“(There are) people from Canada, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Malaysia and South Africa (in the convoy heading to Adana),” Wright said.
“We are heartbroken”
The NGO behind the convoy is one of the main organizers of the 2010 “Gaza Freedom Flotilla”, an attempt by six civilian ships, including the flagship Mavi Marmara, to break the Israeli blockade and d bring aid to Gaza.
Ten militants died in an Israeli raid on the Mavi Marmara, which was carrying mainly Turks, causing a rift in relations between Turkey and Israel that both sides had recently begun to repair.
“In 2018, I was in charge of a ship connecting Norway to Palestine” said Norwegian sociologist Gerd von der Lippe, who joined the convoy, refers to another flotilla heading to Gaza that year.
“At that time, I remained in an Israeli prison alongside 22 other people. I am happy and proud to be part of the work done for Gaza.
“Anyone with a little humanity should join this convoy,” Mustafa Ozbek, IHH spokesperson, told Al Jazeera as the convoy headed toward Ankara.
“We are currently driving on the highway and we hope to be joined by more people in Ankara,” he added. “People from different countries have also joined us. »
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Turks have demonstrated in large numbers against the war.
The war has so far killed more than 9,000 Palestinians as Israel carries out a continuous aerial bombardment on the enclave and pursues a ground attack in the northern part of Gaza. More children have died in Gaza since the start of the war than in all the world’s conflicts in each of the last four years, according to the charity Save the Children. More than 1,400 people lost their lives in Israel, mostly in Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7, which sparked the war.
“We are heartbroken because of what is happening in Gaza,” said protester Yusuf Gungor. “Our brothers and sisters need to know that they are not alone. »
