Fahrettin Altun, the Director of Communications for the Turkish presidency, reiterated Türkiye's unwavering support for Palestinians in the face of Israeli aggression, dismissing disinformation efforts targeting the country's stance on the Palestine issue.

In a post he shared on his social media account, Presidency's Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun said that Türkiye was facing disinformation, particularly regarding trade, through the false perception that Türkiye does not support Palestinians.

Emphasising that our country has been the defender of the just and legitimate demands of the Palestinians on the Palestine issue for the last 20 years, particularly since October 7, Altun said: "Türkiye considers the existence of a sovereign and independent Palestinian state with territorial integrity within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, as an essential condition and defends it in the strongest way on all international platforms. Unfortunately, in recent days, we have been faced with disinformation efforts against Türkiye, particularly regarding trade, through the false perception that Türkiye does not support our Palestinian brothers and sisters."

"Israel and its collaborators intend to target our country and government"

Stating that Israel and its collaborators, who were disturbed by Türkiye's stance against the ongoing massacres in Palestine and Gaza, intended to target Türkiye and its government, Altun pointed out that the best response to these efforts, which no one with a fair mind and common sense could accept, was Türkiye's vigorous struggle for Palestine.

Altun said: "We would like to remind once again those who seek to target Türkiye and those who knowingly or unknowingly participate in this malicious campaign: Since October 7, Türkiye has been the country that has taken the most honourable and effective stance in every field with its state and nation against Israel's genocide.

"President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the leader who shouted in front of the entire world that Israel is a terrorist state"

Recalling that Erdoğan is the leader who shouted in front of the entire world that Israel is a terrorist state, that it is committing one of the bloodiest genocide crimes in history in Gaza, that the biggest problem in the Middle East is Israel itself, and that Türkiye has delivered about 42,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Gaza so far, Altun emphasized that Türkiye will resolutely implement a series of measures, announced by Foreign Minister Fidan and approved by President Erdoğan, against Israel, which is attempting to prevent support and aid to Palestine.

"Our Centre for Combating Disinformation has debunked Israel's perception operations one by one"

In his message, Altun noted: "The numerous national and international initiatives carried out by our Directorate of Communications, as with all of our institutions and organizations, demonstrate this perspective. Since October 7, Türkiye has revealed that foreign media outlets have been playing three monkeys in the face of Israel's extortion and lies in an attempt to hide the truth. The Information Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) convened in Istanbul upon the call of Türkiye shortly after the attacks began. The Extraordinary Meeting of the OIC Ministers of Information was held in Istanbul on February 24, 2024, under the theme "The Israeli Occupying Authority’s Disinformation and Hostilities against Journalists and Media Outlets in the Occupied Palestinian Territory," hosted by the Directorate of Communications. Our Centre for Combating Disinformation worked day and night to debunk Israel's perception operations and lies, one by one, using several pieces of research presented in front of the international community. Many different information initiatives carried out by the Anadolu Agency, TRT, and other media outlets, in collaboration with our Directorate of Communications, played a crucial part in exposing Israel's unthinkable cruelty."

Underlining that Türkiye is one of the countries taking the most principled and humane stance on Palestine, Altun concluded his message:

"Those who use all kinds of lies through conventional and new media methods at their disposal to discredit Türkiye's position should be aware that Türkiye is always with its Palestinian brothers and sisters and will continue to support them regardless of the circumstances." (ILKHA)