SARYA DENİZ

News Center- Death toll of Israel and Palestine conflict that started following the “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” by Al-Qassam Brigades, military wing of Hamas, on October 7 keeps rising. Intense bombardment by Israeli warplanes on the Gaza Strip targets civilians.

The footage showing Israeli strikes from the air and sea targeting women and children brings the concept of “war crime” into question again. The statements by the Turkish government regarding the Israel and Palestine conflict support both Israel and Palestine. At a press conference, Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdoğan urged Israel and Hamas to uphold the law of war, saying, “War has its own manners and morality”. His speech has turned everyone's attention once again to Rojava, where the Turkish state has intensified its attacks since Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan claimed that the assailants behind Ankara’s attack on October 1 had received training in Syria.

Since October 4, Turkish warplanes, drones, artillery and mortars have been targeting civilian settlements and vehicles, electric power stations, gas stations, water resources and energy supplies, oil fields, health centers, hospitals, schools and oil fields. The residents of the region demand the end of the Turkish occupation, the withdrawal of the Turkish forces and Turkish-backed factions and the prosecution of the Turkish state and Turkish-backed factions for their war crimes in Rojava according to international law.

Urgent call

An online petition has been launched by the Civil Diplomacy Center in North and East Syria against the attacks targeting civilians in North and East Syria. Many international figures and NGOs have signed the petition entitled, “Stop war against humanity in North and East Syria Stop Turkey's war and occupation policies”. The petition, available in English, Spanish and Portuguese, calls on all international organizations to take urgent steps against the ongoing Turkish attacks on North and East Syria.

Many human rights organizations, NGOs, platforms and human rights defenders from many countries such as Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, India, China, USA, Germany, UK and Iraq have expressed their support to the petition. The collected signatures and an open letter will be submitted to the United Nations, the Hague International Court of Justice and other relevant international organizations.

No step has been taken

The Turkish state and Turkish-backed factions have been committing crimes against humanity in North and East Syria for years; however, the international community remains silent against these crimes. Turkey is one of the states signing and ratifying the four Geneva Conventions and has become a party of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). However, no step has been taken to stop war crimes committed by the Turkish state in North and East Syria despite all evidence providing its crimes.

Since October 4, the Turkish state has intensified its attacks on North and Syria. The Turkish state has used warplanes, drones, artillery and mortars to target civilian settlements and vehicles, electric power stations, gas stations, water resources and energy supplies, oil fields, health centers, hospitals, schools and oil fields. Although the Turkish state has committed war crimes in North and East Syria for years, the international community keeps remaining silent against these war crimes.