Turkey on Friday blocked access to the Instagram application without providing a clear reason for the move. The move came after senior officials in the country accused Instagram of exercising "censorship" over publications of condolence messages for Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran.
The Turkish Communications announced the ban early on Friday. Many users in the country took to X (formerly Twitter) saying they couldn’t refresh their Instagram feeds.
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Hamas leader Isamil Haniyeh and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
(Photo: Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Turkish Presidential Press Office/ REUTERS)
Turkish communications official Fahrettin Altun last week accused Instagram of censorship, saying, "This is censorship, pure and simple." According to Altun, Instagram didn’t provide a reason or indicate how the posts violated its policies.
Turkey hosts Hamas terrorists within its territory and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who threatened Israel with a military invasion earlier this week, hosted Haniyeh in the country multiple times in recent years. Erdogan announced an official day of mourning to be observed in the country on Friday following Haniyeh's assassination.
Two days ago, in a statement released hours after the assassination in Tehran, Erdogan condemned Israel for the alleged assassination. "This assassination is a vileness that aims to disrupt the Palestinian cause, Gaza's noble resistance and our Palestinian siblings' rightful struggle, to break the will of Palestinians, and to intimidate them," he said on his X account. "However, just as until today, the Zionist barbarism will not reach its goals."
Demonstrations against Israel after Haniyeh’s death were held in Turkey and other Muslim countries, with the largest taking place in Iran.