Turkey frees Israeli couple held for photographing Erdogan's residence
Reuters
Published Nov 17, 2021 11:19PM ET
Updated Nov 18, 2021 12:20PM ET
TEL AVIV (Reuters) -Turkey on Thursday freed an Israeli couple who had been arrested for photographing President Tayyip Erdogan's residence in Istanbul and accused of spying, an allegation denied by Israel.
The couple's release spurred the first conversation between the countries' leaders in years.
Mordi and Natali Oknin were detained on Nov 9. A Turk was also arrested on espionage charges, state-run news agency Anadolu said.
Their family said the pair, drivers for Israel's biggest bus company, had been on vacation.
The Oknins' case became a cause celebre in Israel, whose relations with Turkey have been strained as Erdogan has championed the Palestinian cause.
"Thank you to the entire nation of Israel. Thank you to everyone who helped and supported and got us freed," Natali Oknin told reporters after she and Mordi landed in Tel Aviv aboard a chartered private plane.
Turkish officials did not immediately comment.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett later spoke with Erdogan - the first conversation between Turkish and Israeli leaders since 2013, according to Bennett's office - and thanked Erdogan for helping to resolve the affair.
"The prime minister said this is a solution to a humanitarian issue and noted favourably the communication between the countries, which functioned efficiently and discreetly in a time of crisis," Bennett's office said.
Israel sent a senior envoy to Turkey to seek the couple's release.
Matan Kahana, an Israeli cabinet minister, said Turkish authorities had realised that the Oknins were innocent civilians. Israel gave Ankara nothing in return for the couple's release, he added.
"Let's hope that ties with Turkey will warm. I'm confident that, after days of such intensive contacts, connections were created that will naturally be of service to us in the future," Kahana told Israel's Army Radio.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.