Tens of thousands gathered to protest in Turkey's biggest city Istanbul Monday following a deadly Israeli raid on a flotilla of aid-carrying ships bound for Gaza, among them Turkish vessels.
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| A pro-Palestinian activist is evacuated to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem, May 31, after Israeli naval forces stormed a Gaza-bound aid flotilla in international waters, killing up to 19 pro-Palestinian activists, most of them reportedly Turkish nationals. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli) |
Under the watch of police, at least 10,000 marched on the city's central Taksim square from the Israeli consulate where they had converged after news broke of the pre-dawn raid which led Turkey to recall its ambassador to Israel.
"Damn Israel!", "A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye, revenge, revenge!" the protesters chanted, carrying Turkish and Palestinian flags, as they marched towards the square, an AFP photographer said.
"Close down the Zionist embassy," read a banner carried by the crowd.
Police closed all roads along the protesters' route to traffic as their numbers swelled.
Passers-by expressed their support by applauding the protesters on their march, television reports said.
The group had earlier protested outside the Israeli consulate, chanting anti-Isreli slogans, as police kept them from approaching the building.
In a second demonstration, a crowd of about 500 people gathered outside the residence of Israeli ambassador Gabby Levy in Ankara, calling Israel a murderer and reciting prayers, an AFP photographer said.
"Damn the Zionist murderers!", "Israel will drown in the blood of the martyrs!" chanted the protesters.
Several demonstrators threw eggs and plastic bottles into the garden of the residency which is surrounded by a high wall before they were warned by police to cease their actions.
A large banner reading "Tanks and stones will be your defeat" was hung at the entrance of the street facing the residency.
A large police force was on duty, keeping the crowd on a side street facing the embassy.
Dozens of police were also put on duty around the Israeli embassy in the Turkish capital.
The Israeli army said more than 10 passengers died and between 15 and 30 passengers were wounded when its forces stormed a flotilla of ships carrying aid to Gaza while a Turkish charity involved with the fleet put the death toll at at least 15 dead.
Israel's Channel 10 TV said 19 passengers were killed and 36 wounded in the raid.
The Turkish foreign ministry warned Israel that bilateral ties could suffer "irreparable consequences", describing the operation as "unacceptable". Turkey later recalled its ambassador to Israel.
The deadly Israeli raid came against a backdrop of deteriorating ties between Turkey and Israel, once formidable regional allies.
The two countries' ties flourished under a 1996 military cooperation deal, but has nosedived amid sharp Turkish criticism of Israel's devastating war on Gaza in late 2008 and early 2009.
The Islamist Hamas movement which controls the Gaza Strip, urged Arabs and Muslims Monday to "rise up" in front of Israeli embassies across the globe in protest against the deadly raid.
