A diplomatic incident has sparked the arrest of two Israelis in Turkey on espionage charges. Happy ending after the intervention of the Israeli Prime Minister.
The commemorative photo shows that everything went well, in the end: Natalie and Mordy O’Connor are photographed with Foreign Ministry officials on a private jet on their way back to Israel. The couple’s odyssey, which was found for tourism in Istanbul, lasted a whole week. Turkish authorities arrested them as they were taking photos and videos of the Tsamlitze telecommunications tower. The two visitors were charged with military espionage.
Even Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu intervened in the case: “On November 9, two people who came to Turkey were filming the λιamlitze Tower. Among other things, they took pictures of the President’s residence, even focusing on this area,” he said. . In Israel, the case provoked strong reactions, but also a huge surprise. Why, in particular, should these two Israelis spy on the President of Turkey in such a blatant way, if the accusations are true? However, the fact that Tayyip Erdogan himself did not comment raised expectations that the “misunderstanding” could be resolved.
Mobilization of the Israelis
That’s how it finally happened. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett immediately intervened, clarifying that “these are two innocent citizens who were unwittingly involved in a complicated case. I spoke to their relatives, we are doing everything to resolve the issue, but I can not say more at this time. “. Shortly afterwards, the prime minister, along with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, announced that the couple was free and returning to Israel.
It was another episode in the “difficult” relations between the two countries. For many years Turkey and Israel were allies, something that changed drastically during the years of Tayyip Erdogan. Every once in a while, Erdogan himself flaunted his opposition to Israeli policy in the Middle East and appeared as an advocate for the Palestinians. Leaders of the radical Hamas organization lived in Turkey. In May 2018, during bloody riots on the border with the Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers killed dozens of Palestinians and Ankara recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv, while Israel responded with the same currency.
Are Turkey-Israel relations restored?
Lately, there has been talk of de-escalation in relations between the two countries. Recently, the President of Turkey had a long telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart. The ambassadors to Ankara and Tel Aviv are expected to return to office soon. A diplomatic episode with espionage allegations would certainly not fit into this picture of rapprochement. According to Galia Lindenstrauss, an associate of the Israeli research institute INSS, “the arrest and interrogation of the couple was rather a coincidence. After his release, the two countries will continue to cooperate.”
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett did not fail to publicly thank President Erdogan for his intervention. The question now is whether resolving the “misunderstanding” will also speed up the process of a broader rapprochement between Turkey and Israel.
Benjamin Hamer
Edited by: Giannis Papadimitriou
Source: Deutsche Welle
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Source From: Capital
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