University students and academics in Ankara gathered in front of Hacettepe University Faculty of Dentistry to express solidarity with Palestinians and condemn Israeli genocide in Gaza.

The rally was organized in support of student demonstrations happening in the USA under the slogan " Campuses Rise, Long Live the Global Intifada!"

The protestors chanted slogans and delivered a press statement condemning the ongoing violence in Gaza. The statement highlighted the destruction of infrastructure, including universities, mosques, churches, and hospitals, and the civilian casualties.

The protestors criticized Western states, especially the United States, for supporting Israel and called for increased pressure on the Israeli government. They praised the recent protests at Western universities, including Columbia University, and expressed hope that similar actions would take place in Turkey.

The statement also criticized university administrations that suppress pro-Palestinian demonstrations and called for increased academic activism in defense of Palestinian rights.

The rally concluded with chants of "From River to the Sea Palestine Will Be Free!" in support of the Palestinian cause.

The full text of the statement is as follows:

Campuses Rise, Long Live the Global Intifada!

Israel is a betrayal made to muslim lands made by imperial states. Palestinians have been subject to countless crimes by the Zionist Regime in the past 100 years. However, this oppression has taken a new dimension ever since the ongoing genocide started 7 months ago. 85% of all buildings in Gazza have been destroyed. Universities, mosques, churches and hospitals have been bombed. Many do not have a grave up until this very day, with most of the bodies still buried under the rubble. Every day we see pictures of children torn to pieces, while at the same time people die of starvation and a lack of medication. We are watching a genocide unparalleled to anything ever seen before live with our own two eyes.

Western states, especially the United States, are supporting this genocide in various ways, preventing these genocidal murderers from being held accountable in front of law and seek to immorally justify the action of this genocidal state through numerous propaganda tools. But Zionists propaganda tools have lost all their credibility to the Western civilization. Tens of thousands of westerners now condemn the genocide by the Zionist regime and shout out to the world that they stand by the Palestinians and support them in their just and legitimate struggle. Because of this, large-scale protests are organized every week in the capitals of Western countries. This genocide and the will of Gazans to resist have completely awakened the global conscience.

Recently, protests in support of the Palestinian people and condemning the Zionist genocide in many universities, especially Columbia University, have been on the agenda of the world public. In their protest in support of Gaza and its resisting people, the students are demanding that their universities sever all their ties with the Zionist regime and do not stand on the same side as the perpetrators of this atrocious genocide. The protests have now spread to many of the world's leading universities with deep historical roots, creating places of resistance on university campuses through their own means with their tents with the purpose of putting pressure on both their governments and their universities. Seeing the determination of their students, courageous academics and administrators also salute their students' resistance and directly support them by standing shoulder to shoulder with them. All these demonstrations show us that the fuse of the global intifada has been lit all over the world, from east to west, from young to old. We also want to mention the following point. The number of academics and studies exposing the atrocities of imperialism and the Zionist regime in Western universities is increasing day by day. But sadly, in our minds, crippled by Western admiration, such works do not appear nearly as much. We hope that the number of academics and works defending justice and the rights of the oppressed will increase rapidly.

In the face of these demonstrations, which express the united voice of humanity's conscience, university administrations, which are slaves to the Zionist lobby, resort to very harsh interventions. In front of the eyes of the whole world, the police of these countries are publicly inflicting violence on many students, depriving them of their right to express themselves freely. They treat students like animals. In addition, footage from universities shows many genocide supporters attacking pro-Palestinian students under the protection of the police. Even when facing the threat of being labeled and expelled by Zionists, university students remain firm in their unwavering position. Students show no hesitation against the oppression nurtured by the Zionists trough corruption.

For years, Western states have strengthened their domination over the world through the rhetoric of democracy, freedom of expression and minority rights. But when faced with a protest against their own interests, they completely ignore freedom of expression. We, students from universities in Ankara, condemn the oppression of students who support the Palestinian resistance in American universities. We applaud them for their fight against the occupying and genocidal regime and their support for the global intifada. The worldwide uprising against genocide can no longer be stopped. We echo the cry of students around the world:

FROM RIVER TO THE SEA PALESTıNE WILL BE FREE! (ILKHA)