President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the Extraordinary Session of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) on Palestine, held in the General Assembly Hall. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also addressed the General Assembly during the session.
Delivering a speech during the Special Session on Palestine in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stressed the following keynotes in his historical address:
“President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Numan Kurtulmuş, esteemed members of the Turkish Parliament, and the brotherly people of Turkey, may Allah’s peace be upon you. I come to you from blessed Palestine, from Jerusalem. I come with the message of my people, who are enduring great suffering. I bring the message of my people who have lived through a great catastrophe since 1948. My people, deprived of international justice, cling to their land, homeland, sacred sites, and unchanging national rights, bravely resisting the crimes of the occupying Israel. We believe that one day, by the grace of Allah, this national struggle will be crowned with victory and freedom, and this prolonged affliction will come to an end.
I would like to begin my speech by paying tribute to our tens of thousands of martyrs. I start by remembering those who have been martyred in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem due to Israel’s attacks, crimes, and acts of genocide. The latest of these crimes was committed against our leader, Ismail Haniyeh. Now, I invite you, my esteemed brothers, to recite Al-Fatiha for the souls of Ismail Haniyeh and all Palestinian martyrs.
I salute all the members of this Assembly who defend the just cause of our people. I know that this issue is at the center of your attention, and that you have conducted discussions on this matter in this Assembly. You stand with the Palestinians against the historical injustices, massacres, war crimes, and genocide committed against the Palestinian people. I ask, by Allah, how can the international community remain silent every day as the Israeli occupying state continues its massacres in Gaza, especially in the refugee camps, and just a few days ago, the massacre at a school where more than a hundred were martyred?
We deeply appreciate the leading role of Turkey under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. We commend him for his courageous and principled stance. We also applaud all of Turkey’s political parties and civil society organizations for rejecting and condemning Israel’s crimes against our people, our land, and our sacred sites. Once again, we extend our heartfelt thanks to the brotherly Turkish people for their sincere feelings and noble stance in supporting the Palestinian people and their just cause. Our people will never forget the Turkish people who were martyred for Palestine and Jerusalem. Specifically, we commend Turkey’s decision, alongside South Africa, to refer Israel’s genocide in Gaza to the International Court of Justice.
Halting trade with Israel, Turkey has suspended $10 billion worth of trade in support of the Palestinian people. The Palestinian cause has become a central issue in Turkey. This is a reflection of the values, morals, and policies of the Turkish people.
The true aim of Israel’s genocidal policy in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem is to uproot the Palestinian presence from our homeland and to force the Palestinians into displacement once again. They want to repeat the same tragedy as in 1948 and 1967. But no matter what they do, this will never happen. Our people are deeply connected to their land, their sacred sites, and their homeland, and no matter the cost, they will drive out the occupiers and invaders.
Since October 7, 40,000 Palestinian women and children have been martyred. There are tens of thousands missing and 80,000 injured. In the West Bank alone, there are 10,000 martyrs. Despite this, we will continue to stand strong and will not leave our land. In this context, we greatly appreciate the stances of Egypt and Jordan. These stances fully align with ours, and we support them on all platforms. We have said it in the past, and we will continue to say it tomorrow: Gaza is an inseparable part of the State of Palestine. Another state cannot be established in Gaza, and there can be no Palestinian state without Gaza. Our people will not break or surrender. We will rebuild Gaza. Even if more than 70% of it is destroyed now, we will rebuild it. We will do this to establish our independent State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in the future. This will be done, no matter the cost.”
