Politician dies following a heart attack after a speech in parliament in which he warned Israel of 'the wrath of Allah'
Dec 16, 2023, 18:27 IST
- A Turkish MP collapsed in parliament and was rushed to hospital following a heart attack.
- The opposition Felicity Party politician died in hospital in Ankara on Thursday.
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A Turkish Member of Parliament for the opposition Saadet Partisi, or Felicity Party, died in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday, Reuters reported.
Hasan Bitmez, 54, had suffered a heart attack two days before, collapsing in parliament as he delivered a speech criticizing the government's stance on Israel.
Footage from the official broadcast captured Bitmez's sudden collapse as he finished his speech, during which he had denounced President Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling AK Party for maintaining trade relations with Israel despite the conflict in Gaza.Placing a banner on the podium reading: "Murderer Israel; collaborator AKP," Bitmez accused the government of having "the blood of Palestinians" on its hands and contributing to Israel's military actions in Gaza."You allow ships to go to Israel and you shamelessly call it trade... You are Israel's accomplice," Bitmez said in his speech, per Reuters."You have the blood of Palestinians on your hands, you are collaborators. You contribute to every bomb Israel drops on Gaza," he added."Even if you escape the torment of history, you will not be able to escape the wrath of Allah," he concluded, reading lines from a poem.As he wrapped up his speech, he collapsed, and fellow MPs rushed to his aid.Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that an angiography, which is an X-ray that's used to check blood vessels, showed that the two main veins in Bitmez's heart were completely blocked."His heart stopped beating, then he was resuscitated in parliament and transferred within 20 minutes to hospital," Koca said.Bitmez was the chairman of the Centre for Islamic Union Research and had been involved with Islamic non-governmental organizations, Reuters reported, citing his parliament biography.In October, Israel recalled diplomats from Turkey and said it was reassessing its diplomatic relations with the country after a series of what it called "increasingly harsh statements" from Erdoğan's government."Given the grave statements coming from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives there in order to conduct a reevaluation of the relations between Israel and Turkey," Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on X, formerly Twitter.