Some 200 trade unionists from over 40 countries on Monday gathered in front of the United Nations Türkiye office in Ankara to support Palestine and urged the body to take action.
The unionists who were in the capital for the “International Congress on Labor, Digitalization and Social Justice” called out slogans such as “No to war,” “Free Palestine” and “17,954 children, 12,365 women were killed.”
Reacting to Israel’s continued attacks on Gaza, the unionists rallied for steps to stop the devastation on the strip and its civilians.
“Israel is recklessly violating the most basic human rights and international law. Thousands of children, women and civilians are brutally killed in hospitals, schools, refugee camps and tents. These developments are not a conflict, but a planned and systematic attempt for elimination,” head of Türkiye's largest civil servants' union, Memur-Sen, Ali Yalçın said, reminding that attacks have not stopped for 18 months.
Yalçın continued to say that deaths have exceeded 51,000, while over 116,000 Palestinians have been wounded. “Around 70% of those killed are made up of women and children. Thousands of dead bodies are still awaiting to be pulled out from the wrecks of demolished buildings. In this genocide, hospitals are destroyed, health workers are executed en masse, U.N., Red Cross, Red Crescent and humanitarian aid volunteers, as well as journalists, are targeted in a planned manner and killed ruthlessly.”
He also reiterated that Gaza is not only attacked with bombs, but also through food and medicine embargoes.
International charities working in Gaza warn that its 2.4 million people cannot endure more shortages after many of them were displaced multiple times during the devastating military campaign Israel launched.
Yalçın criticized the international community for hypocrisy and added: “We call on the U.N.; It has to stop Israel’s massacres immediately. We want concrete steps, not messages of condemnation. All those responsible for war crimes committed in Gaza must be tried and punished.”
Lithuanian Labor Federation President Jelena Soms and Palestinian Labor Union Secretary General Ghanfi Zidan Nima also called on the international community to take action, stating that what happened in Gaza was a crime against humanity.
Following the statement, a black wreath was laid in front of the U.N. Türkiye Representation in memory of those who lost their lives in Gaza.
