Turkish Presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın
Turkey’s presidential aide on Saturday lashed out at recently-approved Jewish nation-state law, calling it as an attempt for legalization of occupation.
In a column titled “Israel's nation-state bill is racist” for Daily Sabah newspaper, İbrahim Kalın said the legislation is a sign that Israel sees itself above the international law.
“With the full backing of the Trump administration, the Netanyahu government shamelessly seeks to legalize occupation and antagonize the entire Muslim world,” Kalın wrote in his column.
Approved by Knesset (Israel’s parliament) on Thursday, the legislation recognizes Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish people”.
Palestinian deputies in Israeli parliament protested the controversial “Nation-State" law by tearing up a copy of it on Thursday. Israel passed a law on Thursday to declare that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country, something members of the Arab minority called racist and verging on apartheid.
Palestinian deputies rip copy of Israeli Nation-State law
The legislation also states that a “united Jerusalem” is the capital of Israel and that Hebrew is the country's official language, stripping Arabic of its earlier designation as an official language while recognizing its “special status.”
This is “another slap” in the face of the international community and the UN resolutions rejecting illegal occupation of Jerusalem and Palestinian lands, Kalın said.
Also touching on Netanyahu’s remarks at the Israeli parliament, Kalın said it was “a confession of the Zionist project” that would continue at the expense of the lives, lands and freedom of the Palestinian people.
A recently-approved Israeli law that recognizes Israel as the “nation-state of the Jewish people” has invited a storm of condemnations and outrage in Israel and among Jewish groups.Approved by Knesset (Israel’s parliament) on Thursday, the legislation also states that a “united Jerusalem” is the capital of Israel and that Hebrew is the country's official language, stripping Arabic of its earlier designation as an official language while recognizing its “special status.”Israeli forces arrest, torture Palestinian youth with Down syndromeIsraeli army shells Hamas post in Gaza after truceTamar Zandberg, chairwoman of the left-wing Meretz Party, described the law as “shameful”.“Zionism is no longer a national movement, but a forceful nationalism that humiliates the minority and establishes racial supremacy,” she said.Opposition leader Isaac Herzog said “it is sad that the last speech for him as the head of opposition will be against this backdrop.”Turkey’s MHP leader blasts Israel’s ‘Jewish state’ law“History only will determine whether the law will benefit Israel or not,” he said.Former foreign minister Tzipi Livni said the legislation was only to benefit Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.“Netanyahu wants the law for his fight,” said Livni, a member of the Zionist Union.Her party, the largest opposition party with 24 seats in Knesset, had voted against the law during its three readings.Netanyahu has earlier hailed the legislation, describing its passage as a “defining moment for Zionism and Israel.”ColonialAdalah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel has decried the legislation as “colonial” and “features key elements of apartheid”.“The law guarantees the ethnic-religious character of Israel as exclusively Jewish and entrenches the privileges enjoyed by Jewish citizens, while simultaneously anchoring discrimination against Palestinian citizens and legitimizing exclusion, racism, and systemic inequality,” the NGO said in a statement.It said the law further violates absolute prohibitions under international law which “proclaims practices of apartheid, including legislation, as a crime against humanity”.Palestinian experts slam Israel’s ‘Jewish State’ law‘Extremist’ Israeli legislation draws storm of outrage“The new law constitutionally enshrines the identity of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people only despite the 1.5 million Palestinian citizens of the state,” it added.New Israel Fund a U.S.-based non-profit organization, described the legislation as “tribalism as its worst.”"It is a slap in the face of Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel," it said in a statement."Legislation that identifies first- and second-class citizens has no place in a democracy and danger to Israel’s future,” it added.Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the head of Union of Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish denomination around the world, said the law would do an “enormous damage” to Israel.The American Jewish Committee, a prominent Jewish advocacy groups in the United States, for its part, said it was disappointed by the law.“It puts at risk the commitment of Israel's founders to build a country that is both Jewish and democratic,” it said.
‘Jewish state’ law sparks outrage among Jews
After the passage of the bill, Nethanyahu told the Knesset: "This is a defining moment in the annals of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel.”
Saying that the remarks amounts to erasing the Palestinian people from their homeland physically and legally, Kalın called on the world to reject the legislation.
“All countries, communities and advocacy groups who believe in a legally, morally and historically fair settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should join forces against defenders of racism and apartheid,” he said.
A Palestinian youth with Down syndrome was arrested and tortured by Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil. The disabled youth was left with a broken arm after he was viciously assaulted by Israeli soldiers during his detention.Israeli occupation soldiers arrested and assaulted a Palestinian youth with down syndrome yesterday in occupied Al-Khalil. He suffers from a broken arm. #Palestine pic.twitter.com/g9QuqG4xps— DOAM (@doamuslims) 21 Temmuz 2018 This marks the second time Israeli forces assaulted a Palestinian with Down syndrome after a similar incident took place during protests against U.S. President Donald Trump’s embassy move in December of last year. Israeli forces then assaulted and detained Muhammad al-Taweel, who also suffers from Down syndrome, in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil.Israeli soldiers arresting “Down syndrome” Person. Muhammad Al-Taweel in Hebron pic.twitter.com/z6eFvI2XdS— شجاعية (@shejae3a) 8 Aralık 2017 The inhumane treatment of Palestinian civilians at the hands of Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank comes as Israel steps up its attacks against peaceful protesters near the Gaza Border in the context of the ongoing “Great March for Return” demonstrations against Israeli occupation and oppression.Four Palestinians were killed Friday by Israeli forces in two separate incidents near the Gaza-Israel buffer zone, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. For almost four months, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been holding almost daily demonstrations near the Gaza-Israel buffer zone.Video: Two Palestinians in Gaza Strip killed by Israeli forcesSince the demonstrations began on March 30, more than 140 Palestinian protesters have been martyred -- and thousands more injured -- by Israeli army gunfire.Protesters demand the “right of return” to their homes and villages in historical Palestine, from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.They also demand an end to Israel’s 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclave’s economy and deprived its roughly 2 million inhabitants of many basic commodities.Palestine urges intervention to end escalation in GazaFour Palestinians in Gaza Strip killed by Israeli forces
Israeli forces arrest, torture Palestinian youth with Down syndrome
Israeli tanks shelled a position of Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to the Israeli military.In a statement, the army said the tank fire came after suspects crossed a security fence between Gaza and Israel.Local residents said the shelling targeted an observation tower in the eastern Gaza Strip.No casualties were reported.Palestine urges intervention to end escalation in GazaSaturday’s shelling came shortly after Hamas announced a cease-fire deal between Palestinian resistance factions and Israel to ease tension in the Palestinian territory.The Israeli army also announced that Israeli communities adjacent to the Gaza border could return to normal civilian routine as calm was restored along Gaza border.The cease-fire deal came after four Palestinians were martyred and an Israeli soldier killed in an escalation on Friday.Since March, more than 140 Palestinians have been martyred – and thousands more injured – in Palestinian protests against the decades-long Israeli occupation and an 11-year blockade, which has gutted the Gaza economy and deprived its roughly 2 million inhabitants of many basic commodities.Video: Two Palestinians in Gaza Strip killed by Israeli forcesHamas: Israel, Palestinian movements reach ceasefireFour Palestinians in Gaza Strip killed by Israeli forces
Israeli army shells Hamas post in Gaza after truce
The leader of Turkey’s Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on Friday slammed Israel’s recently approved "Jewish nation-state" law."Israel is moving step by step towards disaster, playing with fire and also regional and global balances," Devlet Bahceli wrote on Twitter.On Thursday, the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) approved the law, which describes Israel as “the nation-state of the Jewish people.”Germany silent on Israel’s ‘Jewish nation-state’ lawTurkey slams Israel's 'Jewish nation-state' lawThe legislation further states that a “united Jerusalem” is the capital of Israel and that Hebrew is the country's official language, stripping Arabic of its earlier designation as an official language while recognizing its “special status.”It was approved by a vote of 62-55 in a tumultuous assembly session in which Arab lawmakers decried what they called “Israeli racism against the Arab minority.”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for his part, has hailed the legislation, describing its passage as a “defining moment for Zionism and Israel.”Turkey has denounced the legislation for trying to strip Palestinians of their rights.
Turkey’s MHP leader blasts Israel’s ‘Jewish state’ law