Turkish lawmaker, Hasan Bitmez, who on Tuesday collapsed on the floor of parliament seconds after saying Israel would “suffer the wrath of Allah”, has died.
The 54-year-old lawmaker died on Thursday at the Ankara Bilkent City Hospital, where he had been placed on intensive care, after suffering a heart attack.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca confirmed Bitmez’s death in a televised speech.
He is survived by a wife and child.
The deceased lawmaker was a member of the opposition Felicity (Saadet) Party.
He had criticised President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s approach towards Israel despite the ongoing conflict in Gaza, saying the Turkish leader was an “accomplice” for continuing to trade with the Jewish state.
“You allow ships to go to Israel and you shamelessly call it trade… You are Israel’s accomplice,” Bitmez said in his tirade after placing a banner on the podium which bore the words: “Murderer Israel; collaborator AKP.”
“You have the blood of Palestinians on your hands, you are collaborators. You contribute to every bomb Israel drops on Gaza,” he told lawmakers, adding that Israel “will suffer the wrath of Allah.”
He collapsed, hitting his head on the floor by the podium, immediately after ending his speech by saying “I salute you all”.
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