ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) on Wednesday accused the co-chair of the pro-Kurdish People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) of "endorsing the words of genocidal Netanyahu" after she censured the government for having double standards when dealing with Kurds.

On Monday night, the Turkish parliament voted to adopt a historic bill that outlines the legal framework for the peace process with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), granting a partial amnesty to former fighters in a substantial step forward in ending the decades-long conflict that claimed tens of thousands of lives.

In an interview with Halk TV that aired on Tuesday, DEM Party Co-Chair Tulay Hatimogullari said that the AK Party, led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, did not sufficiently engage with local stakeholders during the peace process, adding that "a new era cannot be established with 100-year-old norms."

She accused Ankara of hypocrisy in its dealings with minorities, saying, "When you tell Israel, ‘Stop occupying Palestine,’ [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu comes out and says to you, ‘Then you should stop beating the Kurds too.’"

Turkey emerged as one of the most vocal advocates for Palestinian rights amid Israel's genocide in Gaza, drawing retaliatory criticism from Israel - once a close Turkish ally who proved instrumental in securing the 1999 arrest of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan - for its treatment of its own Kurdish minority.

The MP, who is of Alawite background and has long been a campaigner for linguistic rights in Turkey, said that "it's possible" the framework bill was initiated by the AK Party as a mere electoral tool, insisting that the Kurdish issue should be treated as a "societal concern" as opposed to a means of securing votes.

Responding to the comments, AK Party spokesperson Omer Celik on Wednesday rejected her remarks and claimed that she "endorsed the words of genocidal Netanyahu."

Both the DEM Party and Hatimogullari herself have repeatedly condemned Israel and the Netanyahu government over its actions in Gaza, with the co-chair accusing Israel of trying to "erase Palestine from the map" in September 2025.

"At a time when a brand-new era has been ushered in with 467 votes of approval in Parliament, it is a lesson in itself that the DEM Party co-chair's initial statements unjustly and baselessly target our party and our government," he wrote on X.

Titled the "Law Proposal on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Integration," the framework legislation was approved with 468 votes in favor, 88 votes against, and six abstentions after roughly 12 hours of deliberations.

Hatimogullari further thanked Ozgur Ozel, the former leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) who was ousted in May on dubious grounds, and his newly formed opposition Yeni Parti (New Party) for supporting the framework bill.

She noted that Ozel himself and 35 other Yeni Parti MPs voted in favor, though noting that some party members' 'No' votes likely came as a result of "a lack of trust in the current government."

The DEM Party co-chair also echoed longstanding calls for the release of Kurdish mayors detained by Turkish authorities, describing their imprisonment as unconstitutional.