Tension was at its height this Thursday afternoon near the Turkish factory of the American group Procter & Gamble (P&G), located on the outskirts of Istanbul. An armed man claiming to act “for Gaza” held several employees hostage this Thursday evening. The hostages were finally released unharmed after nine hours of captivity. The authorities “told us that the attacker was arrested and that the hostages were released,” a relative of one of the hostages told AFP after a meeting with a local official on site. The governor of the province immediately confirmed that the hostage-taker had been neutralized.
The hostage taking occurred in the middle of the afternoon, around 3 p.m. local time (12 p.m. GMT), according to Turkish media, in this factory of the American manufacturer of household and hygiene products. The man, who retained seven employees according to the Umut-Sen union, justified his action by ongoing Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip, local police said. Special forces entered into negotiations with him, according to local media.
A Procter & Gamble spokesperson confirmed that its factory in Gebze, on the eastern outskirts of Istanbul, was “evacuated earlier today.” “We are working with local authorities to resolve an urgent security situation,” he said. “Workers were evacuated from the factory; seven workers remain hostages. The boss is responsible for their safety,” the Umut-Sen union indicated in a message posted on the social network X.
“For Gaza” painted in red on a wall
A police cordon prevented access to the surroundings of the factory this Thursday evening, where some 500 people are usually employed, AFP journalists noted. And a riot police bus arrived near the factory.
Images reported by Turkish media, which could not be authenticated, showed a man with his face partially covered by a Palestinian keffiyeh, wearing what could be an explosive belt around his waist and a pistol in his right hand. “For Gaza,” says a message painted in red on a wall behind him, under two Turkish and Palestinian flags facing each other.
The husband of one of the detained employees told the private news agency DHA that the man had threatened to “shoot in all directions” in the event of police intervention. “If he does this for Palestine, let him go and fight there. What does my 26 year old daughter have to do with this? », Reacted Çigdem Aydemir, the mother of one of the detained employees, among anxious relatives waiting in the night. “We have no information from the inside. We have been waiting for six hours but no one in charge has made a statement,” lamented the father of another hostage, refusing to give his identity.
A boycott of American products in Türkiye
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, one of Israel’s most critical leaders since the start of the war between the Jewish state and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, has repeatedly denounced US support for Israel, which he described as a “terrorist” and “genocidal” state.
Calls to boycott American products have also been widely reported in Turkey since the start of the conflict. Several McDonald’s restaurants and Starbucks cafes – which operate under Turkish license – were vandalized across the country.
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At the beginning of November, Turkish police had to use tear gas to disperse a pro-Palestinian rally organized in front of a military base housing American forces, a few hours before a visit to Ankara by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Crowds of protesters also gathered in the early days of the conflict in front of the US embassy in Ankara and its consulate in Istanbul. Demonstrations in support of the Palestinians are regularly organized in the country.