HÜDA PAR Chairman Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu has strongly condemned the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, describing the failure of Muslim countries to deliver humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory as a “great shame and humiliation”.

Speaking at his party’s 5th Ordinary Adana Provincial Congress, Yapıcıoğlu drew attention to the continuing Israeli attacks, the blockade preventing humanitarian supplies from reaching Gaza and the worsening suffering of Palestinian civilians, particularly children.

“Being unable to deliver aid to Gaza is a great shame and humiliation. The problem is not impossibility, but lack of will and our failure to unite,” he said.

The congress was held at the Adnan Menderes Indoor Sports Hall with the participation of party members and local residents. It began with a recitation from the Holy Quran, followed by a presentation on the party’s activities and the reading of its financial and activity reports.

In his address, Yapıcıoğlu also discussed Türkiye’s economic challenges, agricultural production, local infrastructure, the protection of families and young people, the Kurdish question and the need for a new constitution.

At the beginning of his speech, he commemorated HÜDA PAR Adana Provincial Secretary Sacit Pişgin, who was martyred in an attack at the party’s provincial headquarters while performing the afternoon prayer on July 22, 2023.

“May Allah have mercy on you, my brother Sacit, the martyr of prostration whose name matches his character,” he said.

Turning to Gaza, Yapıcıoğlu described the humanitarian catastrophe facing Palestinians as an indictment of the international community and the Muslim world, saying that attacks on civilians and essential civilian infrastructure had trampled human dignity underfoot.

He said that, according to figures he cited, attacks on healthcare services in Gaza had reached 793 since October 2023, with 1,725 health workers killed. He also condemned the latest attack on Nasser Hospital, saying that hospitals, schools and places of worship had repeatedly been targeted.

Yapıcıoğlu further highlighted the devastating impact of heavy rains and flooding on displaced Palestinian families, particularly children forced to endure another winter in makeshift shelters.

“More than 500,000 children are spending their fourth winter in makeshift tents. Only yesterday another baby froze to death in a tent made of torn tarpaulins,” he said.

He stressed that the blockade and restrictions on humanitarian supplies had compounded the suffering of Palestinians, leaving families without adequate shelter and essential assistance.

“The Islamic world must set aside its disputes”

Yapıcıoğlu questioned why Muslim-majority countries had failed to use their considerable economic and military resources to ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

He noted that nearly 2 billion Muslims live across 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), whose combined purchasing power he put at approximately $30 trillion.

“Yet despite all these means, being unable to deliver aid to Gaza is a great shame and humiliation. This means that the problem is not impossibility but a problem of lack of will and our failure to unite,” he said.

Referring to remarks by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the opening of the COP31 summit in Antalya, Yapıcıoğlu recalled Erdoğan’s criticism that even tents were being denied to Palestinian children and that permission was not being granted for containers of humanitarian assistance to enter Gaza.

He said the inability to deliver even basic relief supplies demonstrated the failure of the arrangements established to guarantee the ceasefire and protect civilians.

“The so-called Gaza ceasefire plan is designed to liquidate the Palestinian resistance”

Yapıcıoğlu also criticised the Gaza ceasefire agreement and the establishment of the so-called Gaza Peace Board, arguing that the arrangements had failed to secure an end to Israeli attacks or guarantee the uninterrupted entry of humanitarian aid.

Under the agreement, he noted, 600 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies were supposed to enter Gaza daily, while several countries had assumed responsibility as guarantors.

“We said from the very beginning that the Gaza Ceasefire Agreement is nothing but a deception,” he said.

Yapıcıoğlu described the agreement as a joint US-Israeli plan intended to ease mounting international public pressure over the genocide in Gaza while disarming and weakening the Palestinian resistance.

He questioned the role of the countries that had pledged to guarantee the agreement, saying that their inability to secure humanitarian access raised serious questions about the effectiveness of the arrangement.

“If the Islamic countries that are guarantors of the Gaza Ceasefire Agreement cannot ensure the unhindered access of humanitarian aid and cannot even deliver a single container to Gaza, then what meaning remains of this so-called agreement?” he asked.

Calling for concrete and deterrent measures rather than statements of concern, Yapıcıoğlu urged Muslim countries to overcome their political differences and take responsibility for protecting Palestinians.

“Everyone who is truly disturbed by the scene in Gaza must take concrete and deterrent steps and create a new equation on the ground. The Islamic world must set aside its disputes, come together against its common enemy, defend the rights of the oppressed, and take ownership of its own future,” he said.

Justice, economic reform and social solidarity

Beyond Gaza, Yapıcıoğlu criticised Türkiye’s economic policies, saying that pensioners, minimum-wage earners, workers, farmers and small businesses were struggling with rising living costs while interest payments consumed an increasingly large share of public resources.

He said approximately 20 percent of projected tax revenues in the 2027 budget would be allocated to interest payments, describing the interest-based economic system as a major source of debt, unemployment and income inequality.

He reiterated his party’s demand that the lowest pension should not fall below the net minimum wage, noting that a bill submitted by HÜDA PAR had remained pending in parliament for around a year and a half.

Addressing agricultural challenges in Adana and the wider Çukurova region, Yapıcıoğlu called for lower production costs, stronger irrigation infrastructure, interest-free financing for farmers and measures to prevent intermediaries and supermarket chains from exploiting producers and consumers.

He also highlighted shortcomings in Adana’s sewage, public transport and urban transformation infrastructure, calling for transparent planning and improvements to public services.

On social issues, he warned about drug trafficking, addiction and threats facing young people and families, urging a comprehensive response involving families, schools, civil society and public institutions. He also called for stronger support for families with children and young couples struggling with the cost of establishing a household.

“The Kurdish question must be resolved on the basis of justice and brotherhood”

Yapıcıoğlu said strengthening social unity and the domestic front was essential amid regional and international challenges.

Referring to the ongoing political and legal process concerning the Kurdish question, he expressed hope that the decades-long issue could be resolved permanently through justice, equality and brotherhood.

He stressed that ending violence alone would not be sufficient without restoring trust and ensuring that all citizens were treated equally, regardless of their identity, language, belief or sect.

“We want a fully independent and prosperous Türkiye in which all people living on these lands regard one another as brothers, in which no one is excluded because of their identity, language, belief or sect, and in which everyone sees themselves as an equal and honourable member of this country,” he said.

Yapıcıoğlu also called for a new civilian constitution that guarantees fundamental rights and freedoms, protects all segments of society and places human dignity and justice at its centre.

Concluding his address, he called for a broad moral and spiritual mobilisation against corruption, bribery, embezzlement and the misuse of public resources, insisting that everyone must be held accountable before the law.

At the end of the congress, incumbent Adana Provincial Chairman Fethullah Beyazçiçek was re-elected after receiving all valid votes in an election held with a single list. (ILKHA)