Israel's attacks on Gaza protested on 1000th day in Mardin, call for concrete action made

In the central Artuklu district, a large number of citizens gathered in front of Şakir Nuhoğlu Mosque following Friday prayers and read a statement to protest the 1000th day of Israel's attacks on Gaza. In the text read by Kadir Üründü, the term speaker of the Mardin Civil Society Organizations Platform, a harsh call was made to the international community to take concrete steps against Israel, emphasizing the importance of the attacks passing the 1000-day mark. Participants carrying Palestinian flags expressed their condemnation by chanting takbir and slogans, and the protest ended with a prayer for the martyrs.

In his speech, Üründü outlined the dimensions of the humanitarian crisis, stating that Israel ignored international law and human rights by targeting civilians, and that hundreds of thousands of buildings, hospitals, schools, and water resources were destroyed in the process. He stated that despite this devastation, the people of Gaza did not surrender, preferring to resist with honor and dignity rather than living in humiliation, and argued that this resistance is a source of courage and hope for the oppressed people of the world. Recalling that the struggles of oppressed peoples in history are not forgotten, Üründü said that the Gaza resistance would also take an important place in human history and should be passed on to future generations.

In this context, Üründü expressed their desire to keep the social memory of the city alive by making concrete demands such as giving names that would remind children of this struggle and renaming streets, avenues, and squares in a way that would perpetuate the Gaza resistance. He suggested that people from different faiths and cultures from all over the world were in solidarity to support the people of Gaza, but that particularly Islamic countries and states remained far from showing the expected level of reaction. Along with this criticism, the message was conveyed that the insufficient political attitudes at regional and global levels did not produce solutions to the problem.

Speaking on behalf of the Platform, Üründü emphasized that as Mardin Civil Society Organizations, they would continue their work without interruption to ensure that what happened in Gaza is not forgotten, and that they would never allow the people of Gaza to be isolated. Stating that they would continue to be the voice of the feelings, thoughts, and expectations of their city and people, they expressed their determination to create awareness at the local level. In this context, he underlined that civil society was ready to do its part not to remain indifferent to the issue.

AK Party Mardin Provincial Chairman Mehmet Uncu, HÜDA PAR Mardin Provincial Chairman İsmail Çevik, DEVA Party Mardin Provincial Chairman Abdülkadir Kerimoğlu, along with various provincial directors and numerous civil society organization representatives, attended the program, demonstrating the wide spread of political and civil participation in the city. The statement concluded with the slogans "Long live Gaza's glorious resistance, long live the struggle for honor and freedom," and ended with a prayer for those who lost their lives in Palestine.