A group of women held a protest outside the provincial headquarters of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the central city of Konya on Friday, denouncing Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and criticizing the Turkish government for maintaining ties with Israel, the Tv5 news website reported.
Konya, considered Turkey’s conservative heartland and a traditional stronghold of the AKP, rarely sees public criticism of the government, making the protest particularly notable.
The women gathered to draw attention to the continuing conflict in Gaza and to express outrage at what they called Ankara’s contradictory stance: publicly condemning Israeli actions while allegedly maintaining economic relations.
Chanting slogans and holding signs that read “Don’t stay silent about the oppression in Gaza,” the women accused the AKP of ignoring public demands to sever all ties with Israel.
The demonstrators were not allowed inside the AKP building, prompting some to express frustration. “We gave them our votes, but they won’t even let us in. Are we terrorists?” one woman shouted.
Police set up security barricades outside the building as tensions briefly flared.
🔴Kadınlardan AKP binası önünde protesto
🔴‘Oylarımız alındı ama biz buraya alınmıyoruz’https://t.co/my6krmsljf pic.twitter.com/Va9VFL86C3
— Gazete Pencere (@gazetepencere) July 25, 2025
In May 2024 Turkey halted all direct trade with Israel in response to mounting domestic criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
However, the Turkish government has faced protests and accusations for allegedly continuing trade with Israel while adopting a harsh anti-Israeli rhetoric, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan repeatedly accusing Israel of “genocidal behavior” and comparing the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu administration’s actions to those seen in Nazi Germany.
Despite the government’s anti-Israel rhetoric, pro-Palestinian activists in Turkey face close scrutiny, with many detained simply for staging protests against what they describe as the country’s continued trade with Israel.
At least 16 demonstrators were detained in İstanbul earlier this week on accusations of insulting Erdoğan following a protest against the 17th International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF 2025), which hosts defense contractors known to supply weapons and military technology to Israel.
Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 that resulted in the death of 1,206 people and the taking of some 250 hostages.
According to the health ministry in Gaza, the Israeli military has killed at least 59,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 142,000 since October 7, 2023.
A report released by Amnesty International on December 5 concludes that Israel’s actions in Gaza qualify as genocide.