Lawmakers from Turkey’s ruling AK Party and the pro-Kurdish DEM Party brawled in parliament over the detention and replacement of a DEM Party mayor in southeast Turkey.
Israel plans to allow more oil tankers to dock at a Red Sea port in Eilat despite environmental risks. The government wants to revoke restrictions on the amount of oil that can be unloaded at a jetty in the city, which sits near a coral reef. The curbs imposed in 2021 were eased temporarily during the Gaza war. EAPC, the state-owned company operating the pipeline, wants to receive more oil, but environmental regulators and Eilat’s mayor oppose the plan. Israel is pushing to ensure energy security amid conflicts with various groups. Netanyahu’s office recommended easing restrictions to include fuel for trade and domestic use. The environment ministry expressed concerns about the risks of more oil deliveries and cited past mishaps. EAPC welcomed the government’s U-turn, emphasizing the strategic importance of the Eilat facility for energy delivery. Israel imports most of its oil through seaborne trade, and the Emirati oil deal could be worth about million a year for EAPC. The Energy Ministry emphasized the need to handle oil deliveries properly to sustain the terminal economically.
Fact: Former pro-Kurdish party leader Selahattin Demirtas was sentenced to more than 40 years in jail for instigating protests in 2014 triggered by an Islamic State attack on the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani.
Turkish court sentenced Selahattin Demirtas to over 20 years in prison for inciting 2014 protests following an Islamic State attack on Kobani. The verdict may escalate political tensions surrounding Demirtas’ pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan visited Iraq to improve relations and discuss deals on energy, trade, and security cooperation against Kurdish PKK militants. Erdogan emphasized Turkey’s expectations for Iraq to help in the battle against the PKK. Cooperation on economic projects and securing water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were also discussed. Bilateral trade between Turkey and Iraq was worth .9 billion in 2023. Erdogan also planned to meet with Iraqi Kurdish officials during his visit.
Abdullah Öcalan, the Kurdish leader, has been in solitary confinement on Imrali island since 1999, with no communication since March 2021. Despite his efforts for peace in the Middle East, European leaders remain silent on his situation and human rights violations. Ibrahim Bilmez, Öcalan’s lawyer, urges Europe to recognize Öcalan’s efforts and demand his release to help bring peace to the region.
The Breach Festival, organized by Make Music Cyprus, returns for its third edition in April featuring musicians accomplished in the field of improvisation and experimental music. The festival will welcome participating musicians from Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon, Switzerland, and Spain. The festival takes place in partnership with the Irtijal festival in Lebanon and Space21 festival in Kurdistan/Iraq.
The fact described in the text is that more journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7, and that Israel does not distinguish between combatants or civilians, journalists or terrorists, adults or minors. Additionally, the text mentions that hundreds of journalists are imprisoned in Turkey, with six Kurdish journalists being arrested recently.
Twelve Turkish soldiers have been killed in clashes with PKK militants in northern Iraq. The Turkish military conducted air strikes, killing at least 13 PKK militants on Saturday. The PKK is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. Turkey frequently carries out air strikes in Iraq as part of its offensive against PKK militants.