Presidency’s Deputy Director of Communications Çağatay Özdemir (PhD) delivered a speech at the “International Conference on Occupied Palestinian Territories” held online by the Turkish Law and Justice Platform.
Noting that Israel had accomplices by its side during the attacks and occupation of Palestine, Özdemir said this complicity did not only stem from approval or support, but it was also rooted in silence in the face of injustice.
Pointing to those, who, under the illusion of neutrality, were acting like spokespeople for Israel and attempting to legitimise the attacks, Özdemir indicated that Israel and its supporters falsely equated any critique of Israel with anti-Semitism.
“Impunity encourages Israel for similar attacks”
Emphasising that Israel’s attacks were certainly not self-defence, Özdemir expressed that while they kept hearing that Israel “retaliates” against the Palestinians under false neutrality, there was no mention of far-right settlers kicking Palestinians out of their family homes.
Recalling that Israel destroyed a civilian building in Gaza, where the offices of Associated Press, Al Jazeera and other media outlets were located, Özdemir said, “It is the violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which identifies freedom of expression and right to information as fundamental rights. Basic freedoms are targeted by Israel to cover the truth. Freedom and safety of the media are in fact essential for the protection of all other human rights.”
“The journalists become the target of Israel”
Stating that in November 2012, Israel bombed another media building in Gaza – two days in a row, Özdemir said, “There was no pushback. There was no investigation. There was no accountability. Indeed, Israel counts on the fact that people tend to forget such things. That impunity enables and encourages similar attacks on the media. While trying to cover the developments on the ground, many journalists risk their lives, and they often become the target of the Israeli army. In 2018, 2 journalists were killed, and many were injured even though they were wearing vests or helmets bearing the word ‘Press’.”
“İsrael has waged war against media”
Pointing out that Israel waged war against media, Özdemir stated the following:
“The Israeli security forces repeatedly targeted journalists reporting from Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. TRT and Anadolu Agency were among those media outlets whose staff were threatened, beaten and shot with rubber bullets on the ground. Likewise, freelance journalists have been working under terrible circumstances. Israel continues to deny journalists’ access to Gaza. This is an attempt to suppress information. It is about stopping the world from learning about Israel’s war crimes. It is also about keeping the Israel public in the dark – about ruling out empathy and about building a radicalised base.”
