INCIRLIK: Turkish police on Sunday fired tear gas to disperse a pro-Palestinian rally staged outside a military base housing US forces just hours before the arrival in Ankara of Washington’s top diplomat.

The protest outside the Incirlik Air Base in southeastern Turkiye was organised by the IHH humanitarian relief fund, which in 2010 led a flotilla to Gaza that sparked Israeli raids in which 10 civilians died.

An AFP photographer said the police intervened when the crowd began to walk toward the base after holding a peaceful rally in Incirlik. Images on social media showed several hundred people waving Palestinian flags running across a field chased by the police, who also used water cannon.

The Mediterranean coastal base is owned by Turkiye but used by the US Air Force and occasionally Britain’s Royal Air Force, providing them with strategic access to large parts of the Middle East.

Thousands of demonstrators gather in Washington, oppose US policy over Gaza unrest

The IHH protest was timed to coincide with a visit to Ankara by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was to arrive late on Sunday and meet Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday.

Protesters toppled barricades and clashed with police in riot gear. Demonstrator were also seen hurling plastic chairs, rocks, and other items at police, who fired smoke bombs at crowds. Scuffles broke out between the crowds and security forces IHH President Bulent Yildirim addressed crowds in Adana and urged them to refrain from attacking police.

“Friends, it is wrong to throw rocks or do similar things because both the police and soldiers would want to go to Gaza and fight and they will go when the time comes,” he said.

“Our rage is huge. We cannot hold it in. But Turkiye is doing what it can,” he added. IHH ended its rally earlier than planned due to the clashes with police.

Protesters oppose US policy

In addition, thousands of protesters gathered in Washington on Saturday to demand a ceasefire in Gaza where thousands have been killed in an Israeli offensive since Oct 7, and to denounce President Joe Biden’s policy towards the Gaza unrest.

Protesters carried placards with slogans such as “Palestinian Lives Matter,” “Let Gaza Live” and “Their blood is in on your hands,” as the US government continued to reject demands to add its voice to calls for a blanket ceasefire.

Activists called the planned protest a “National March on Washington: Free Palestine” and organised buses to the US capital from across the country for demonstrators to attend, said coalition group ANSWER, an acronym for “Act Now to Stop War and End Racism.” “What we want and what we demand is a ceasefire now,” said Mahdi Bray, national director of the American Muslim Alliance.

The demonstration was among the largest pro-Palestinian gatherings in the United States and among the biggest for any cause in Washington in recent years.

Crowds began gathering at Freedom Plaza near the White House in the afternoon before the protest started with a moment of silence as demonstrators held up a large poster with names of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.

“Biden, Biden you cannot hide, you signed up for genocide,” protesters chanted in Washington on Saturday. Washington has sought to persuade Israel to accept localised pauses, which Israel has thus far rejected.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2023