Turkish Parliament Kicks Out Coca-Cola, Nestle Over Israel Support

Pro-Palestinian protesters are seen demonstrating against the visit of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken outside the Turkish Foreign Ministry building on June 6th (local time)./AP Yonhap News

The Turkish Parliament has expelled some products of companies that it claims are supporting Israel, which is at war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

According to the state-run TRT Haber and Reuters, the Turkish Parliament announced on the 8th (local time), “Products of companies supporting Israel will not be sold in Parliament’s facilities such as restaurants, cafeterias, and tea houses.”

The Parliament explained that Speaker Mustafa Şentop decided to support the public boycotting products of companies that openly declare their support for Israel’s war crimes of killing innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip.

The Turkish Parliament did not specifically mention which companies this action targets. Still, citing sources, Reuters reported that products of global companies Coca-Cola and Nestlé have been removed from the menu of the parliament’s facilities.

However, neither the Turkish Parliament nor the sources clarified how Coca-Cola and Nestlé supported Israel.

Last month, Nestlé temporarily closed one of its production plants in Israel as a precautionary measure.

Reuters assessed that “this move by the Turkish Parliament is one of the first actions targeting major brands over the Israel-Hamas war by a government or major organization.”

Previously, the port workers’ union in Barcelona, Spain, announced that it would not load or unload any military supplies as long as the war continued, and the Belgian transport union also refused to handle military supplies being sent to Israel.