At least 100,000 people took to the streets in
Organized by the Islamist Happiness Party, protesters marched and assembled in Caglayan Square on the European side of the city.
Among keynote speakers were Happiness Party leader Recai Kutan and Dr. Salah Sultan, President of the American Center for Islamic Research.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Hanniya and former Turkish premier Necmettin Erbakan addressed the demonstrators via video and phone conference.
Protestors demanded an end to what they called “Israeli crimes” against the Palestinians and called for boycot of Israel.
Erbakan criticized the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for not taking a stronger stance with Israel, recalling he had fired his foreign minister over dealings with Israel.
Israel launched its Gaza Strip offensive on Wednesday June 28, after an Israeli soldier was taken prisoner by Palestinian resistance groups.
While Israel claims its military offensive is aimed at freeing the captured soldier and stopping home-made Qassam shell firings, the Palestinians see the offensive as a bid to topple the Hamas-led government and inflict long-term havoc on Gaza’s infrastructure.
Turkey will donate $1 million to Palestine to contribute to development of small and medium scale industries, Turkish Foreign Ministry said Friday.
The ministry said in a statement that this donation is inline with the framework of liabilities Turkey has undertaken at a donor’s conference held in Washington D.C. in 1993 and in Paris in 1996.
The agreement will be signed Monday by Vehbi Dincerler, the Economic & Social Affairs Coordinator of Turkey for Palestine, and Palestinian Ambassador to Turkey Nabil Maarouf in Turkish capital of Ankara, Turkish sources said.
