ISTANBUL - Press organizations staging a protest in front of the Israeli Consulate under the slogan “We stand with our Palestinian colleagues” reacted to the international community's failure to take action against Israel's attacks. 

 

Journalists, the Turkish Journalists' Association (TGC), Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Turkish Journalists' Union (TGS), and the Turkish Press, Publishing, and Printing Workers' Union (DİSK Basın-İş) made a statement under the slogan “We are speaking out for our Palestinian colleagues” led by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ). 

 

The statement was made in front of the Israeli Consulate in the Beşiktaş district, with slogans such as “Free Palestine from the river to the sea” and “Long live our solidarity with Palestine” being chanted and banners reading “Israel is killing journalists” and “End the occupation and genocide in Palestine” being carried.

 

OVER 200 JOURNALISTS KILLED 

 

Reading the press statement, RSF Turkey Representative Erol Önderoğlu drew attention to the fact that dozens of Palestinian journalists have been killed with impunity in front of the international community since 2023. 

 

Önderoğlu said: "We are here in front of the Israeli Consulate to condemn the fact that all human values are being disregarded and that people are now being faced with starvation. We condemn the violation of international war law and humanitarian values by the Israeli state and the killing of over 200 journalists. We are outraged by the international community's failure to take action against Israel, which targets our colleagues who are risking their lives to report the news, just like women, children, and many other vulnerable people, whether they are out on the streets, in tents, or at home trying to protect their families." 

 

LETTER TO ERDOĞAN 

 

TGS President Gökhan Durmuş read a letter addressed to AKP Chair and President Tayyip Erdoğan. The letter emphasized the timid stance of public authorities and the European Commission toward the events in Palestine, stating, "We are witnessing the systematic and deliberate starvation of people in Gaza who have been deprived of food, water, medical supplies, and shelter for days. Children are dying of exhaustion in the arms of their parents, who are unable to feed them. While babies in hospitals are suffering from severe malnutrition, humanitarian aid convoys continue to be blocked. This is not the result of a natural disaster, but a political decision designed by the Israeli government, a kind of collective punishment. By closing Gaza to foreign journalists, the Israeli army is suppressing freedom of expression and the public's right to information. By starving journalists, the voice of truth—that is, journalists—is being silenced in the truest sense of the word. We demand that the European Commission, of which Turkey is a founding member, clearly state its position on the ongoing genocide in Gaza, stop hiding behind neutral statements, and take concrete steps."

 

Turgut Dedeoğlu, President of DİSK Basın-İş, then took the floor and stated that 21 people, including a journalist, were detained on the Handala Ship, which was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza and was seized by Israel in international waters, saying, "We are now beginning to see that journalists are not only being killed by weapons, but are also beginning to starve to death and will not be able to report on the situation. From here, we respectfully salute all our journalist friends in Gaza who are still carrying out their profession with dignity."