Turkish MP who threatened Israel with divine punishment dies from heart attack at parliament

OAN’s Brooke Mallory
12:41 PM ‌– Thursday, December 14, 2023

Two days after having a heart attack and collapsing at parliament after ending a speech ‌that condemned Israel, ​a Turkish ⁤opposition legislator ​died‌ on Thursday.

In televised remarks, Health ⁤Minister Fahrettin Koca informed reporters that Hasan Bitmez, 54, a member of parliament from the opposition ⁤Felicity (Saadet) Party, had passed away at Ankara City Hospital.

According to his parliament biography excerpt, Bitmez was a graduate of Al Azhar University in Cairo,⁢ the chairman of the Centre ‌for Islamic Union Research, and had previously held positions in Islamic non-governmental organizations.

He was also a ​married father of one child.

Bitmez was⁤ shown ⁣collapsing to the ground while at the podium on Tuesday’s televised Parliament broadcast. He also hit his head as he fell.

Bitmez had a lengthy history ⁣of criticizing the ruling AK Party (AKP) and President⁣ Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey for the nation’s trade relationship 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 speech after putting a sign on the podium that read, “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 legislators during a debate over the foreign ministry’s 2024 budget.

Bitmez ⁤had abruptly collapsed to the ground after concluding his‌ furious declaration, prompting other lawmakers to bolt from their seats to help assist him.

Following⁢ the ⁣incident, ​Koca stated that a hospital’s angiography⁣ showed ​that Bitmez’s heart’s two major veins were completely blocked.

An angiography ⁣is a “medical imaging⁣ technique used ​to visualize the inside, or lumen,⁣ of blood vessels and organs of the body, with particular interest⁣ in the arteries, veins, and the heart chambers.”

“His heart stopped beating,⁢ then he⁤ was resuscitated in parliament and transferred within 20 minutes to hospital” where⁢ medical machinery kept‍ him alive, Koca had said on Tuesday.

In the May presidential elections, the tiny Islamist Saadet Party joined the major opposition group in support⁢ of candidate ‍Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Due to the alliance’s agreement, Saadet MPs, like Bitmez, were allotted seats in parliament simply because they were included on the​ lists of ‍the largest opposition party, the CHP.

Bitmez, who was a devout Muslim ⁤and consistent critic⁢ of⁢ Israel, is now being mocked online by a number of popular social media accounts, even though his sudden​ death‌ has been reported and televised.

“Poetic justice ​and⁣ instant karma…” ⁣ One social media user said.

“I guess ‘Allah’ didn’t⁢ give two sh*ts about him, best of luck to your fake god in bringing wrath to Israel lol,” another ​user said.