More than half a million people march in Istanbul against the “massacre” in Palestine

MADRID, January 1 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Some 520,000 people, according to the authorities, participated this January 1 in a massive march which crossed the emblematic Galata Bridge in Istanbul in a new expression of rejection of the “massacre” perpetrated by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The demonstration ended on the esplanade which separates the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque of the old city under the motto “We will not be intimidated. We will not be silent. We will not forget Palestine.”

The protest was called by the Platform Alliance for Humanity and National Will, in the presence of more than 400 Turkish civil society organizations as well as political parties, including the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The demonstration was attended by Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunç and Commerce Minister Ömer Bolat, who pointed the finger at Israel for the “genocide” of the Palestinian people. “The government of (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is responsible,” he stressed, according to the Turkish newspaper ‘Hürriyet’.

“The people of Istanbul today make an important appeal to the world for human rights and justice. As you can see, we prayed together, more than half a million people gathered in Galata despite the cold today in Istanbul,” Tunç emphasized.