Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Diyarbakir (Amed) Deputy and Foreign Relations Committee Co-Spokesperson Hişyar Özsoy drew attention to Turkey’s economic relations with the government of Israel at the General Assembly of Parliament, according to MA.

Özsoy started his speech by condemning the Israeli government for bombing the Gaza Strip. “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to preserve his power and that is why he is attacking Palestinians now”, he said, adding: “It is just like what the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government did after the 7 June elections. The AKP government changed its politics and started a conflict to preserve its power during those days”.

Özsoy continued: “Whenever there is the ‘Palestinian issue’, they (Netanyahu and Erdoğan) start attacking each other. They condemn each other. However, behind the scenes, trade relations continue. Now I will talk about it in detail”, he stated.

“The trade volume between Turkey and Israel increased by 250% between 2002 – when the AKP came to power – and 2020. The peak of these economic relations was when we saw the most tension in front of the cameras”, he said, providing the following example: “The Gaza flotilla raid (Mavi Marmara) in 2010 and before that the ‘one minute’ incident in 2009. Look at the volume of trade in 2011 – these are all official figures. There is a steadily increasing trade between the countries”.

Özsoy compared the attacks of Israel with Turkey’s military operations in Cizre district in 2014-2015. During a 78-day curfew imposed on Cizre between 14 December 2014 and 2 March 2015, more than 150 people were killed, including more than 100 civilians who were burned alive whilst sheltering in basements during the curfews.

“Netanyahu uses a couple of missiles as an excuse, and bombs Gaza, using warplanes, bombs, rockets and is killing civilians. They use the rhetoric of ‘War against terrorism’: this is what the AKP government did in Cizre too”, he said.

“There are two main problems in the Middle East: one is the ‘Kurdish question’ and the other is the ‘Israel- Palestinian’ issue. Neither Turks, Arabs, Kurds, nor Persians or other peoples will live in peace until both the ‘Kurdish issue’ and the ‘Palestinian issue’ are resolved in this geography. The Republic of Turkey can play a role, if it wishes, for the peaceful solution of both problems due to its historical stance, diplomatic background, NATO membership and regional position”, he said.

“However instead of performing its duties, Turkey has been using the Palestinian cause for simple political games and polemics”.