March For Palestine in Turkiye – 5 October Report – ISA

On October 5th, a solidarity march for Palestine took place in Turkey. Organized under the leadership of the Palestine Action Committee, the march saw massive participation from labor unions, student movements, and socialist groups. The demonstration not only sent a message of support against the genocide and blockade faced by the people of Palestine, but also served as a platform for strong criticism of the Turkish government and its imperialist collaborators.

The march transformed the streets into a scene of resistance. Participants raised banners demanding: “Full embargo on Israel!”, “Close the bases!”, “Stop the Hamas rhetoric, cut the trade!”, “Close İncirlik and Kürecik!”, “Exit NATO, dismantle NATO, stand with the resistance, not genocide!”, “General strike for Palestine from Italy to Anatolia!” These slogans reflected both opposition to the Turkish government and a broader international solidarity perspective.

The chants echoed with determination and anger. The focus was on “Killer Israel” and the “collaborator AKP.” Recalling the past experiences of Palestinian activists who were imprisoned for months for saying “Killer Israel, collaborator Erdoğan,” this time the target was the AKP party: the words had changed, but the address remained the same—the people’s anger against the collaborator government was on full display.

As a student participant, I was part of the Palestine Student Solidarity Platform’s cortege, one of the most energetic groups in the march. We chanted in Arabic, and also in Turkish, English, and Kurdish to send messages of solidarity. Students from different backgrounds and identities joined together, building a collective voice through our chants. Around a 3-meter-long Palestinian flag, the cortege unified, raising the energy with resistance-themed songs and Palestinian anthems. To salute solidarity from Italy, we also chanted “Cav Bella” together.

This march not only made visible the solidarity of Palestine supporters in Turkey but also demonstrated that mass opposition against the government and its collaborators could be organized.

The voice rising from Turkey was not only in support of Palestine but also a call for mass struggle against imperialism, collaborators, and genocide.