While the Israel-Hamas war continues to escalate, so does tensions across the entire world. On Saturday, November 4, pro-Palestinian protesters were caught on camera trying to storm a U.S. air base in southern Turkey ahead of Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to the country.
This incident is just one example of how global conflicts are affecting other countries and their citizens.
Reuters video footage showed that a group of pro-Palestinian protesters had gathered outside the Incirlik Air Base in Adana Province with Palestinian and Saudi Arabian national flags, chanting “Allahu akbar” while throwing projectiles ranging from stones to plastic chairs at riot police who were behind barricades. The police responded by using tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd and bring an end to the protest.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is currently on a diplomatic mission around the world that includes stops in Tel Aviv, Israel, Amman, Jordan, Iraq and now Turkey. He has been engaging in “intense diplomacy” in order to urge against further spread of war between Israel and Hamas as well as try and secure Sweden’s accession into NATO.
His latest stop was prompted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recalling his ambassador from Israel over its refusal to agree on a ceasefire agreement regarding Gaza civilians as well as humanitarian aid concerns for those affected by conflict there.
Fehmi Bülent Yıldırım, president of conservative Muslim aid agency IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, released a statement via Twitter expressing his support for those protesting at Incirclik Air Base saying that he hoped Allah would save all Muslim countries from American bases worldwide before adding that certain individuals or groups infiltrated without permission which lead to an early ending of what he described as a “very nice rally here with speeches.” He ended his statement saying “Don’t worry, hopefully the echoes of this will be beneficial all around the world.”
