Turkey’s parliament on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution condemning Israel for what it called genocide and the expansion of its occupation in Gaza, as lawmakers held an extraordinary session to address the worsening humanitarian disaster in the Palestinian enclave.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan did not attend the meeting, which was chaired by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş.
The extraordinary session was convened during parliament’s summer recess at the request of all seven political parties represented in the assembly, comprising the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), the New Path group, the Islamist New Welfare Party (YRP), the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP), the Labor Party (EMEP) and the Democrat Party. Lawmakers gathered under the chamber’s dome with Palestinian flag–patterned scarves draped across their seats and around their necks, underscoring the symbolism of solidarity.
The resolution, introduced with Kurtulmuş’s signature, declared that Israel’s decades-long policies of occupation, destruction and annexation had in the past two years turned into genocide in Gaza. It said Israel’s actions, including blockades, bombardments and the deliberate use of famine and starvation, had caused the death of nearly 70,000 Palestinians — most of them women and children — and injured more than 150,000. The text accused the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pursuing annexation of all Palestinian territories, including Gaza, while subjecting Palestinians to what it described as a “death and starvation prison.”
The resolution also condemned violence by Israeli forces and settlers in Jerusalem and the West Bank, citing the expansion of illegal settlements and the destruction of Palestinian land and infrastructure. It criticized international inaction, stating that apart from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC), no global body had acted to stop Israel’s policies.
Parliament urged world legislatures to pressure their governments to end military and trade relations with Israel, to support the delivery of uninterrupted humanitarian aid to Gaza and to back the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. The resolution called for suspending Israel’s membership in international organizations until it ends what lawmakers described as genocide.
Kurtulmuş told lawmakers before the vote that the text was “extraordinarily strong” and said its adoption as an official parliamentary motion meant it would be published in the Official Gazette as a state document. All 442 members present voted in favor. The CHP’s proposal to extend parliament’s summer session for continued debate on Gaza was rejected, and Kurtulmuş adjourned the assembly until October 1.
The vote came against the backdrop of an escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. On August 22 the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, an international monitoring body, declared famine in parts of Gaza City, reporting that one in five households faced extreme shortages leading to malnutrition and death. According to Gaza health authorities, Israeli forces have killed more than 62,000 Palestinians and wounded over 142,000 since October 7, 2023, when Hamas carried out an attack that left 1,206 people dead in Israel and around 250 taken hostage.
Two leading Israeli rights groups, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, last month joined international NGOs and UN experts in accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, urging governments worldwide to act.