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Palestinian artist Marwan Abdelhamid, known as Saint Levant, used his concert Friday in Istanbul to deliver a strong message about the situation in the Gaza Strip, telling fans he struggles to perform while Palestinians continue to suffer.
Speaking to the crowd between songs, Saint Levant said it is sometimes difficult for him to go onstage to celebrate his culture, share his music and dance “while our brothers and sisters in Gaza have been undergoing a brutal, brutal genocide for the past three years.”
He rejected characterizations of the situation as a war or a conflict between two sides, instead describing it as genocide.
“This did not start on Oct. 7,” he said. “This is 75 years and more of military occupation.”
“I think now the world has finally, finally understood that Palestinians were not born with a hatred. I think the world has finally understood that we are a population living under occupation,” he added. “We demand not only justice, but we demand freedom. And we demand it every single day.”
Drawing a comparison with apartheid-era South Africa, Saint Levant said the Palestinian struggle shows that liberation is possible.
“Freedom is achievable,” he said. “Freedom is on the horizon for Palestinians. And our children will be able to take a plane from Istanbul to Jerusalem.”
Concertgoers waved Palestinian flags, wore keffiyehs and chanted “Free Palestine” throughout the performance.
In a landmark advisory opinion issued last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Although a ceasefire took effect on Oct. 10, living conditions in Gaza have not improved, with Israel continuing to impose strict restrictions on the entry of aid trucks, in violation of the humanitarian protocol of the agreement.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 70,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, and injured more than 171,000 others, according to Palestinian figures, with attacks continuing despite the truce.
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