July 30, 2018•Update: July 30, 2018
By Muhammet Emin Avundukluoglu
ANKARA
A Turkish opposition lawmaker said Monday U.S. President Donald Trump heartened Israel in its aggression against Palestinians and its defiance of international law.
Speaking to journalists at the parliament, Peoples' Democratic Party's lawmaker Tulay Hatimogullari reminded that Israeli forces had martyred at least 150 Palestinians and wounded 15,000 others during protests in Gaza since the beginning of this year.
"The Jewish 'nation-state law', which was recently passed by the Israeli parliament, revealed once again how Zionists honed their lawless, racist, murderous stance," Hatimogullari told reporters.
"The Zionist entity is not committing these crimes on its own. It has the backing of the U.S. and the western capitalism. And it is violating all international agreements."
Since March, more than 150 Palestinians have been martyred by Israeli army gunfire during protests against the decades-long Israeli occupation and an 11-year blockade, which has gutted the Gaza economy and deprived its roughly 2 million inhabitants of many basic commodities.
The law defines Israel as a Jewish state with a “united Jerusalem” as its capital. It has also promoted Hebrew as the only official language, stripping Arabic as an official language while recognizing its “special status”.
The new legislation risks further alienating the Arab minority who argue they already face discrimination from Israeli Jews and the government and already feel as though they are second-class citizens.
Palestinians, who have Israeli citizenship make up 21 percent of the population, are known as Israeli Arabs and have members in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
