On Sunday, police at the Incirlik Air Base in Adana, Turkey, used water cannons and tear gas to stop an Islamist mob that supports Hamas from storming the building that housed American troops.
The mob originated from a demonstration organized by the Turkish Islamist Group, the "IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation," against the United States and Israel and in support of the terrorist group Hamas, as Breitbart News reported.
A "Freedom Convoy for Palestine" was brought together by IHH on Sunday in opposition to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's planned visit to Turkey this weekend.
Speaking at the rally, Bulent Yildirim, the chairman of the IHH, urged people not to attack police, saying that police officers shared his organization's pro-Hamas views and were powerless to strike Israel.
Yildirim was reportedly subjected to tear gas during the mob's assault on the base, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency in Turkey.
“Friends, it is wrong to throw rocks or do similar things because both the police and soldiers would want to go to Gaza and fight and they will go when the time comes,” Reuters quoted Yildirim as saying.
Located in Incirlik, Turkey, are members of the United States Air Force's 39th Wing Command. Turkey is an official U.S. ally under NATO's aegis.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist Turkish government is technically linked with the United States, but it constantly threatens the alliance by openly supporting terrorist organizations like Hamas and by flouting agreements with NATO's primary opponent Russia.
Anti-American sentiment in Turkey has been on the rise during Erdogan's leadership. Islamist and secular anti-Americans alike have been vocal about their disapproval of the United States' presence at Incirlik and their periodic attempts to assault the base.
Anti-Americanism has been stronger in Turkey in the past month in response to the catastrophic terrorist attack against civilians in Israel by Hamas on October 7, which left over 1,400 people dead.
From their stronghold in Gaza, Hamas militants infiltrated Israel and systematically slaughtered civilians in residential areas. Israeli responders have documented evidence of terrorism, including the decapitated and charred bodies of newborns, raping, torturing, and killing civilians.
“Hamas is not a terrorist organization, it is a group of mujahideen defending their lands,” Erdogan proclaimed at a meeting of his Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) on October 25, objecting to Israeli operations to defend its territory against Hamas.
According to a Sunday story in the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, a number of men separated from the "Freedom Convoy" as it neared Incirlik and attempted to enter the facility by means of the adjacent airfields. Police on horseback, tear gas, and water cannons were used by the Turkish government to quell the rioters.
Reuters estimated that the mob was in the hundreds of individuals, attempting to knock down barricades and throwing objects at police.
“Footage from the protests showed police firing tear gas and using water cannons to disperse crowds waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting slogans. Protesters toppled barricades and clashed with police in riot gear,” Reuters narrated. “Protesters were also seen hurling plastic chairs, rocks, and other items at police, who fired smoke bombs at crowds.”
The official Turkish news agency Anadolu portrayed the rally as a peaceful demonstration against "Israel's attacks on the Palestinians," downplaying the violence that occurred outside the airbase where police "stepped in" to stop "some protesters" from "throwing stones, bottles, and fireworks."
