Turkish police dispersed with tear gas and water cannons on Sunday a demonstration in support of Palestine in front of the Incirlik base, which houses US weapons and troops, hours before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Ankara.
There were no reports of injuries or arrests during the demonstration, as police intervened after demonstrators tried to enter the military base, and U.S. officials did not comment.
The demonstration arrived in front of the Incirlik base in Adana after it started from Istanbul last Friday, and the demonstrators denounced the US support for Israel amid its continued aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 7.
The demonstration was organized by Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation, which in 2010 led the Freedom Flotilla in an attempt to break Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, but was intercepted by the Israeli navy in an operation in which 10 civilians were killed.
Turkish relief chief Bülent Yildirim said the anger of the Turks was too great to be curbed, but Ankara was doing its best to bring a ceasefire to Gaza.
Turkey owns Incirlik Air Base, but is used by the US Air Force and sometimes the British Royal Air Force, providing them with strategic access to large parts of the Middle East.
Major demonstrations in support of Palestine took place to condemn the Israeli aggression on the besieged enclave, and Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations and cut off contacts with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today that Ankara is working behind the scenes to try to stop the bloodshed and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, adding that they are doing much more than meets the eye, he said.
Erdogan is unlikely to meet Blinken, as he said he would continue his domestic tours as scheduled while the US secretary of state was in Turkey, but Blinken is scheduled to meet his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan on Monday to discuss the war on Gaza.