Investigative journalists have reported that members of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), generally allied with the president, own a company that acts as a sales agent for Israeli agricultural producers in Turkey; This seemingly contradicts President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent policies. A harsh critic of Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Following an unprecedented attack by Hamas militants on October 7, Israel launched a brutal attack on Gaza, killing approximately 1,200 people in Israel and taking more than 250 hostages to Gaza. . The death toll in Gaza now exceeds 33,634, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
Hilmi Durgun, a member of parliament from the far-right MHP, owns Agrocel Tarim, a company that sells products from Israeli agricultural company Haifa Group, according to a tweet by investigative journalist Metin Jihan citing publicly available data. ing. Those of several other agricultural producers.
In previous online messages about the Gaza war, Durgun said he wanted to be on the front lines of protecting Palestinians. He also responded to criticisms of hypocrisy by allowing the sale of Israeli products and saying that Turkey is contributing to agricultural development and relies on imports to do so.
“Our company is engaged in the production of fertilizers and the sale of these fertilizers on the domestic and international markets. Unfortunately, the raw materials necessary for the production of fertilizers are not found in our country,” Dargan explained.
He added that according to official data from the Ministry of Agriculture, almost 90% of fertilizer raw materials such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are imported from countries around the world.
Durgun said Haifa is one of the world’s leading producers and suppliers of fertilizer raw materials and has a significant presence in Turkey.
“Importing or sourcing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which are essential for the sustainability of crop production, is necessary to meet the needs of Turkish farmers,” Dargun said.
He said he believes it is a national challenge to provide access to technology, fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural machinery and other goods that are important for the progress of Turkish agriculture and the achievement of global quality standards. Ta.
However, in his post, Cihan accused companies of forcing farmers to use Israeli and other foreign seeds, which could undermine local seed production.
Mr. Durgun’s position highlights the contradictory attitude of the MHP, which is aligned with President Erdogan, who professes strong support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip but also includes businessmen who distribute Israeli products. There is.
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