Turkish lawmaker Hasan Bitmez, who suffered a heart attack and collapsed in the Parliament after criticising Israel and saying that it would not be able to "escape the wrath of Allah", died on Thursday. The 54-year-old MP from the opposition Felicity (Saadet) Party died in Ankara City Hospital, said Turkey's Health Minister Fahrettin Koca.
Bitmez was the chairman of the Centre for Islamic Union Research and had previously worked for Islamic non-governmental organisations, his parliament biography shows. He is survived by his wife and is a father of one.
What did Bitmez say?
The Turkish MP delivered an address at the General Assembly of the Turkish Parliament on Tuesday, where he criticised the government's policy on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. He said that "we can perhaps hide from our conscience but not from history". In a pointed reference to Israel, Bitmez said: "You will not escape the wrath of Allah."
Slamming Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for continuing trade with Israel despite the sharp rhetoric of the war in Gaza, Bitmez said, "You allow ships to go to Israel and you shamelessly call it trade... You are Israel's accomplice." He also placed a banner on the podium reading: "Murderer Israel; collaborator AKP (Erdogan's AK Party)".
"You have the blood of Palestinians on your hands, you are collaborators. You contribute to every bomb Israel drops on Gaza," he told lawmakers. After finishing his speech, he immediately collapsed to the ground with his head hitting the floor as other MPs rushed from their seats to help.
He was taken out of the Assembly to a hospital, where he was admitted to intensive care in "extremely critical and serious" condition, according to reports. Bitmez also reportedly suffered from diabetes.
Turkey's stance on Israel
Turkey was in the midst of efforts to warm ties with Israel before the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. However, as the war went on, Erdogan backtracked from his stance and made fiery statements condemning Israel's action in Gaza and warning the state of a "heavy price" if it attempted to eliminate Hamas members in Turkey.
Weeks after the war began, Erdogan lambasted Israel for its "aggression" against Hamas in Gaza and called, "Tel Aviv is 'acting like a terrorist organisation' and 'committing crimes against humanity'". According to Erdogan, Hamas 'is not a terror group', and called it a 'patriotic organisation that defends its territory and people'.
After Erdogan threatened to declare Israel a war criminal, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced that the country was pulling its diplomats from Turkey to "reassess relations" with Ankara. "In light of the escalating rhetoric from Turkey, I have instructed the return of diplomatic representatives from Turkey in order to reassess Israel-Turkey relations,” Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a statement.
(with inputs from Reuters)
ALSO READ | Turkish lawmaker suffers heart attack after saying Israel 'won't escape God's wrath' | WATCH
