The Presidency's Director of Communications, Fahrettin Altun, participated in the panel "Gaza Genocide: New Evidence," organised by Anadolu Agency (AA) at AAtolye.
Expressing his pleasure to be present at the panel where Israel's massacres in Gaza since October 7 will be discussed and new evidence documenting this massacre will be presented, Director of Communications Altun highlighted that historian Ilan Pappe wrote the book "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine" "with the deep conviction that the ethnic cleansing of Palestine must become rooted in our memory and consciousness as a crime against humanity."
Emphasising that he sees the panel as a reflection of a similar belief and will, Director of Communications Altun said, "I believe that this meeting will be one of the most significant events where the crimes Israel has committed in Gaza will be recorded before the law, history, and the conscience of humanity. Events like this will enable us to record Israel's massacres as 'proven war crimes, backed by concrete evidence,' rather than 'alleged crimes' based on the images we captured while working in the field. We are channelling our efforts in this direction."
Expressing his gratitude to everyone who contributed to these efforts, Director of Communications Altun continued his speech:
"We have to say loudly and clearly that a genocide is taking place in Gaza at this very moment; Israel is committing a grave crime of genocide in Gaza. Israel has committed and continues to commit numerous heinous crimes, including 'genocide', that the Rome Statute defines as crimes. The crime of genocide goes beyond the act of mass murder. Genocide is a complete assault on the physical and moral existence of a community.
Israel is not only mass murdering the people of Gaza; it is also committing a cultural genocide to destroy the moral identity of the region. Since the start of the attacks, 194 mosques and 100 schools in Gaza have been completely destroyed, while 266 mosques, 3 churches, and 295 schools have suffered substantial damage. Israel is trying to completely eradicate the existence of a people with its culture, traditions, customs and memory. Israel's recent operations on the Rafah region, where it expelled people while claiming it was a 'safe zone,' are clear evidence of its genocide policy."
"Israel is in complete disregard of humanitarian law in Gaza"
The Director of Communications, Altun, stated that humanitarian law governs how states use force in armed conflict, but when it comes to Israel, one can speak of lawlessness, cruelty, and injustice, and that humanitarian law is literally ignored and trampled on in Gaza.
The Director of Communications, Altun, noted:
"Israel's ongoing and systematic targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure constitutes a blatant violation of humanitarian law. The extensive use of weaponry such as phosphorous bombs, which are prohibited by several conventions, particularly against the civilian population in Gaza, is further evidence that Israel has committed war crimes.
Aside from the fresh material discussed today, the book 'The Evidence' covers several images and evidence of Israel's atrocities and genocide. That is why we have made significant efforts to ensure that the evidence presented in the book "The Evidence" be utilised in Israel's trial at the International Court of Justice. Today, in a development that makes us glad for the sake of truth, we see the International Court of Justice using the evidence in 'The Evidence' book, as well as newly discovered evidence."
"We should not turn a blind eye to Israel's disinformation campaigns"
The Director of Communications, Altun, stated that Israel is making significant efforts to conceal its massacres, that it is pursuing a comprehensive state-led disinformation policy to normalise its brutality and barbarism against Gaza and Palestinians, and that Israel has been disseminating disinformation since the first day of its massacres.
The Director of Communications, Altun, remarked that Israel is attempting to hide its atrocities through disinformation and went on to say:
"We should not turn a blind eye to Israel's disinformation campaigns, just as we should not be indifferent to Israel's atrocities, barbarism and genocide attempts that Israel is trying to normalise. If we turn a blind eye, truth and facts will be substituted by lies and false information. If we turn a blind eye, we normalise Israel's crimes and prevent them from being prosecuted.
As the Directorate of Communications of the Republic of Türkiye, we have made it our duty to be vigilant against indifference, negligence and disinformation from day one. Embracing our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's motto, "A fairer world is possible," we have always considered it our most important mission to uphold the truth and will continue to do so."
"Our Centre for Combating Disinformation has exposed nearly 200 cases of disinformation spread by Israel"
Pointing out that the Centre for Combating Disinformation under the Presidency's Directorate of Communications detects Israel's disinformation and lies one by one and shares the truth with international public opinion, the Director of Communications Altun said, "Our Centre for Combating Disinformation has exposed nearly 200 cases of disinformation spread by Israel since October 7 until today."
Director of Communications Altun noted that when the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza was bombed, Israeli officials, Israeli media outlets and social media users spread the lie that "it was not Israel but Hamas that carried out the attack," but that the Centre for Combating Disinformation detected that the footage shared with the claim dated back to 2022. Director of Communications Altun said, "The Centre also revealed that the former digital media officer of the Prime Minister of Israel first shared a triumphal post about the Israeli army's bombing of a hospital in Gaza, then deleted it and shared a second post claiming that the attack was carried out by Hamas."
Stating that the disinformation exposed is indicative of Israel's brutality as well as its mentality, the Director of Communications, Altun, added:
"Israel claimed that living people in Gaza were being wrapped in shrouds by Hamas, pretending to be dead, and spread this in the international media. Unfortunately, the death toll in Gaza today has reached 30,000, including innocent children, women and innocent people. And yet Israeli officials shamelessly made such a claim.
So, what was the truth? We exposed the truth. It was found that the alleged footage was shared on social media platforms on August 19 of last year. The footage was from a training session on funeral procedures at a mosque in Malaysia. The circulation of this footage, along with the claim that 'living people in Gaza are wrapped in shrouds, pretending to be dead' demonstrated that Israel knows no boundaries in twisting the truth and how incapable it is in the face of truth."
''75 per cent of journalists who were killed in 2023 died in Gaza''
"It cannot be a coincidence that 75 percent of the journalists killed in 2023 died in Gaza," Altun remarked, recalling that Israel also specifically targets and massacres journalists who aim to spread the truth around the region. Israel has murdered 130 journalists so far while they were doing their jobs and reporting the truth about what was happening in Gaza. Among them was Muntasir al-Sawaf, a cameraman for the Anadolu Agency. I wish Allah's mercy upon all of them.''
Reiterating that they will keep trying their hardest to ensure the failure of Israel's activities to obscure and distort the truth, Altun said, ''Today, unfortunately, a considerable part of the Western media is making a concerted effort to render Israel's massacres invisible. Most Western media outlets cover the conflicts from Israel's point of view and attempt to conceal the tragedy and genocide in Gaza.''
"The oppressor is rendered invisible"
Stating that these media outlets use a variety of strategies and tactics, most notably the use of divisive rhetoric, to conceal tragedy and cover up the genocide committed by Israel, Director of Communications Altun noted,
''These media outlets portray Palestinians as "alien," "other," and "underdeveloped" people while portraying Israelis as a "progressive," "modern," and "Western" society. While the deaths of Israelis are reported in English headlines as 'murdered', the massacre of locals in Gaza is simply referred to as 'dead', and the perpetrator is concealed. Palestinians are, unfortunately, depicted in Western media as 'inhumane beings.' In this sense, the oppressor becomes invisible and readers of these articles are unable to empathise with the oppressed. Thus, further oppression and isolation are being inflicted on our Palestinian brothers and sisters."
Director of Communications Altun mentioned that pro-Israel media also employed the dangerous tactic of "one-sided reporting," noting that viewers encountered interviews of Israeli citizens by Western reporters during news broadcast hours, portraying them as "victims."
Emphasising that these narratives never mention the atrocities that Palestinians have suffered for 75 years, Altun said: "On the contrary, whenever the Israeli state bombs people's homes, hospitals and schools, this atrocity is touted as Israel's so-called 'right to self-defence'. However, any action taken by Palestinians resisting these invaders for their freedom is immediately labelled as 'terrorism'. These are not random news reports, but discourses and narratives that appear as an extension of ideologically motivated strategies."
"Activities of our news outlets are extremely important in the struggle for truth"
Altun concluded his remarks by saying:
"Israel's reckless genocidal actions and the collaborative attitude of most of the Western media in the face of these actions make the activities of our news outlets, especially Anadolu Agency, more important and strategic in the struggle for truth.
These activities, which both document the tragedy and set a humanitarian and professional example for the international media, deserve great appreciation. The 'Genocide in Gaza: New Evidence' panel serves this endeavour. The book titled 'The Evidence', along with the new evidence incorporated into it, followed by books to be published titled 'The Witness' and 'The Defendant', exemplify our unwavering commitment to justice and truth, representing a significant endeavour in this regard. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all my colleagues who have contributed to these invaluable works of extensive effort and to this important panel. I congratulate Serdar Karagöz and all the employees of Anadolu Agency. We will continue to work and strive together for a fairer world where justice and truth will win and prevail over oppression."
Moderated by AA Visual News Director Fırat Yurdakul, the panel continued with speeches by experts.
