ISTANBUL, (PIC)
Participants in the 5th conference of “Parliamentarians for Al-Quds” in Istanbul called for an end to the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, and to stand firmly in the face of the Israeli offensive and violations against the Palestinians.
This came in statements addressed to Anadolu agency on the sidelines of the 5th Conference of the League of Parliamentarians for Al-Quds (Jerusalem), which was held on Friday under the title “Freedom and Independence for Palestine,” with the participation of nearly 600 parliamentarians from more than 75 countries and the participation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who delivered a speech in its opening session.
Abdel Samad Haikar, a Moroccan MP and member of the African Parliament, stressed that the importance of the conference lies in the fact that it represents a popular reaction in the face of the worsening situation and the shift in Israel’s behavior committing offensives criminalized by international law as crimes of genocide in the Gaza Strip.
“We must stand firmly in the face of the military operations carried out by the Israeli occupation army, which target children, women and the elderly,” he said.
For his part, the Speaker of the Parliament of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Zorlu Tore, said, “The countries that we call civilized are watching what is happening, and are even supporting Israel,” adding that “President Erdogan is leading efforts to end the massacre in Gaza in the face of the world’s continued silence. This has turned into a long-term conflict and must be ended.”
Tore concluded his speech by saying, “We attach great importance to the leadership of President Erdogan, and we hope that the Palestinian people will succeed in obtaining their freedom,” expressing his hopes that the massacres against the people of Gaza will come to an end.
For his part, Jamal Qarsali, a former German politician of Syrian origin, expressed his appreciation for the conference and hailed the supportive position of Türkiye.
Commenting on the German positions in support of Israel and supplying it with arms, he said unfortunately Germany is ashamed of its Nazi history and wants to erase it by being part in the oppression of the Palestinians by supporting Israel.
Speeches by the heads of parliaments of many countries who attended the conference were delivered on Friday. The countries included Ivory Coast, Burundi, Gambia, Senegal, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Northern Cyprus, and others. The speeches expressed the countries’ condemnations of the US and Western support of the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Strip.
