A member of Turkish Parliament from the opposition Felicity (Saadet) Party, Hasan Bitmez who slumped on Tuesday after a speech against Israel and the ruling AKT party, has died.
He was said to have suffered a heart attack during yesterday’s plenary session where he delivered a speech against the war in Gaza and other parts of Palestine which Israel is prosecuting.
The 54 year-old lawmaker was rushed to a hospital in Ankara City Hospital where he died.
In a video posted by Visegrad 24 on Tuesday, Bitmez was seen slumping to the floor shortly after he attacked the Israeli government for its ongoing attack in Gaza.
Other members of the parliament quickly rushed to his side.
The Time of Israel quoted Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca as saying Bitmez was hospitalised and his condition was “extremely critical and serious.”
Before his death, Bitmez was a popular critic of President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party (AKP) over Turkey’s ongoing trade with Israel despite the war in Gaza, and despite the government’s sharp rhetorical criticism of Israel’s military bombardment.
“You allow ships to go to Israel and you shamelessly call it trade… You are Israel’s accomplice,” Bitmez said in his speech after placing a banner on the podium reading: ‘Murderer Israel; collaborator AKP.’
“You have the blood of Palestinians on your hands, you are collaborators. You contribute to every bomb Israel drops on Gaza,” he told lawmakers during a debate over the foreign ministry’s 2024 budget.
After finishing the speech, Bitmez suddenly fell backwards on the floor, with other MPs rushing from their seats to help.
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