The place of war criminals is not the platform of congresses but rather in the dock, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said on Friday, criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being allowed to make propaganda from the U.S. Congress.
“Netanyahu’s show based on lies will not be enough to cover up the massacre in Gaza leading to genocide and war crimes,” Kurtulmuş said in a written statement.
“We followed with great astonishment and horror the invitation to the U.S. Congress and the address to the joint session the other day of Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of an extremist government founded on the denial of the existence and rights of the Palestinian people,” he added, saying that the respectability of Netanyahu is even questioned in his home country whilst he is applauded in the U.S.
“As some U.S. politicians have correctly pointed out, Netanyahu has made it clear with his speech that he himself is the biggest obstacle to stopping the bloodshed in Gaza and achieving lasting peace in the region.”
Saying that it is only natural that this politician, who dragged the rule-based international system to collapse for the sake of his personal fortune, being treated as a respected statesman in the parliament of a country like the U.S., causes outrage in Türkiye and the world, as well as in the U.S., Kurtulmuş added: “The fact that many members of Congress refused to be instruments of this stage show is an expression of this simple truth.”
He further called on the American people to continue to stand with the majority in the streets to defend justice and peace.
Netanyahu made a nearly hourlong speech Tuesday where he claimed that no civilians were killed in the southern city of Rafah, which the Israeli military invaded in early May.
Many Democratic lawmakers skipped the address, and pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside the Capitol building where he spoke and at his hotel.
Demonstrations also took place in Türkiye. Members of the group “Open Rafah” protested in front of Israel’s Consulate in Istanbul, voicing support for Palestine. The group said that the survivors of Israel’s attacks in Gaza have been struggling with famine, thirst and illness for 293 days.
"The U.S. collaborationist senators, who argue that human rights only apply to those who are white and Western, yesterday rewarded the genocide criminal Netanyahu with a standing ovation. When will these two terror states, which drown the world in blood and tears, continue to kill thousands of children, women, elderly and civilians indiscriminately, be stopped?” the protesters said.
Moreover, another group took up protests in Istanbul’s Fatih district, carrying the Turkish and Palestinian flags as well as posters written with “terrorist Israel.”
Making a statement on behalf of the group there, Erol Demir, the chairperson of the Human and Civilization Movement Istanbul Organization, said, “We witnessed with pain how barbaric America applauded the bloodthirsty Zionist.”
Türkiye has been a virulent critic of Israel, has hosted Hamas leaders and welcomes the Palestinian resistance group as a liberation movement, unlike the majority of the Western world.
Ankara has called on the U.N. Security Council and the U.S. to exert pressure on Israel to accept a cease-fire proposal.
