Israeli and Turkish passengers arriving or daparting both in Turkey and Israel detained by local police forces after their passports taken away from them, passengers from both countries: Everyone was in shock !

Israeli passengers on board a Turkish Airlines flight that landed in Istanbul Atatürk airport early on Monday morning were held for several hours by local police after their passports had been taken away from them. The passengers complained that the Turkish police officers were disrespectful, claiming that such an incident was unprecedented. Flight 793 departed from Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel as planned at 5 a.m. and landed two hours later in Istanbul. “They asked us why we came to Turkey, opened our bags, checked how much money we have and what we have on our laptops,” one of the passengers told NationalTurk.

Turkey Israel relations : An eye for an eye

“I think that the Turkish police officers didn’t even know what they were looking for,” the Israeli tourist added. “They apparently got an order to detain us, one by one. Everyone was in shock; we didn’t know what they were going to do to us. Obviously this was done intentionally, in order to create an unpleasant feeling.”

Turkish tourists complain of hostile treatment in Israel

Meanwhile at Tel-Aviv Ben Gurion International airport in Israel Turkish tourists who went to Israel during the Ramadan Feast have complained about similar maltreatment in Israel. One of the tourists told reporters at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport that they went to Israel to visit Jerusalem on the third day of the Ramadan Feast.

“When we arrived at the Tel Aviv Airport to return to Turkey, Israeli security forces kept me and some of my friends waiting for a long time. They asked about detailed personal information including our e-mail addresses, mobile phone numbers, our marital status and even number of our children. They checked our luggage several times. Then, we were subject to body search. They forced us to take off every clothes on us. They also searched Turkish women in those special rooms. Only Turkish tourists were subject to such a hostile treatment,” one turkish passanger stated.

“On the way back to Turkey, our plane had to make an emergency landing at Antalya Airport since one of the tourists got sick after that treatment in Israel,” he added.

Eyup Ansar Ugur, guide of the group, claimed, “there was a different treatment against Turkish people. Our luggage was rummaged by Israeli security officials for many times. Since search of our luggage took so long, our flight was delayed. Some Turkish people catched the plane at the very last moment. One of them got sick at the plane and our plane made an emergency landing in Antalya.”

Turkey Israel Relations in crisis : Innocent citizens from both sides suffer mostly

Foreign Ministry officials of Turkey and Israel respectively stated they were currently looking into the incident. Turkey’s ministry of foreign affairs told the officials that no order was issued to detain Israelis. Israel is also making efforts to find out who is responsible for the detention, and whether this was an unusual occurrence or part of a new policy.

R’ and D’, businessmen from Israel who were on the flight said the attitude of the police officers at the airport was estranged and upsetting. “We have been doing business in Turkey for 13 years. They held all Israelis. Whoever doesn’t have to work here shouldn’t come. They spoke rudely and acted improperly. People missed their connections but they didn’t care,” he said.

According to the two, “As soon as they saw an Israeli, they told him to move on to questioning. All the Israelis were together and they accumulated the passports in one pile. I have never seen such a thing. I have also never seen them behaving in such disrespect. I don’t know what will be the atmosphere on the street. I don’t know what to expect. The papers from yesterday are filled with incitement.

“They asked us how long we are planning to stay, gesturing with their hands to stay put. No explanations were given. They gave back our passports after almost two hours,” the two added. The passengers on board described a sense of anxiety and a desire to return home. “This feels like the point of no return. Whatever we have felt until now, it will not be the same anymore.”

The incident both in Turkey and Israel are the latest deterioration in the relations between Israel and Turkey, which culminated on Friday after Turkey expelled the Israeli ambassador following Israel’s refusal to apologize over the takeover of a Gaza-bound Turkish vessel in 2010 and the publication of the UN’s Palmer Report. In both incidents which are nothing but political primitivness, only innocent citizens from both countries suffer.

On Sunday, it was reported that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planning to visit Egypt and Gaza Stripe soon to sign strategic cooperation agreements with Cairo government in a political move against Israel.

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