Israeli soccer player returns to Israel after being detained in Turkey for protest in support of hostages held in Gaza
By Hande Atay Alam, Scott McLean, Amir Tal and Isil Sariyuce, CNN
(CNN) — Sagiv Jehezkel, the Israeli soccer player suspended from top-tier Turkish club Antalyaspor for an on-pitch protest in support of hostages held in Gaza, has returned to Israel after he was briefly detained by police.
Jehezkel, who had been held by police in Antalya, was suspended by Antalyaspor over the weekend after showing his bandaged wrist which had the message “100 days, 7/10” supporting Israeli hostages on Sunday.
The bandage was a reference to the Israeli hostages who had been held for 100 days in Gaza on Sunday following the deadly attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7.
A hostage release deal agreed between Israel and Hamas in late November ended after six days, with more than 100 freed. Israel believes 107 hostages are still being held in Gaza, as well as the bodies of 25 who are dead.
The prosecutor’s office announced that its procedures have been completed, but there is no indication that the investigation into the player has been dropped.
On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that Jehezkel is returning to his home country.
Jehezkel landed back in Israel on Monday night where he was greeted by cheering locals.
He said he was happy to be back, that there was no place like Israel and that he did not want to speak immediately about his experience.
Antalyaspor Deputy Chairman Alkan Evren said in a statement that a legal process is ongoing to terminate the contract of the 28-year-old Israeli footballer, according to Turkish state broadcaster, TRT Haber.
“I did not act to provoke anybody. I want the war to end. This is why I showed that sign,” Jehezel previously said, according to a leaked Turkish police report widely cited across Turkish media.
On Sunday, Antalyaspor announced its decision to suspend Jehezkel from the team, saying that he acted against the “national values” and was “excluded from the squad by the decision of the board of directors.”
A club statement added: “Our Board of Directors will never allow behavior against the sensitivities of our country, even if it results in a championship or a cup.”
Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç also wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Jehezkel performed an “ugly action supporting Israel’s massacre in #Gaza” after scoring in Antalyaspor’s 1-1 draw against Trabzonspor.
Yehezkel, a right-winger, has scored six goals and recorded two assists in 13 matches for Antalyaspor this season.
At first, Antalyaspor officials didn’t notice the message on Yehezkel’s wrist and posted a photo of his celebration on the club’s social media accounts. However, the post was later removed.
Antalyaspor President Sinan Boztepe said in a statement on X: “The instant post after his goal was shared on our club’s official social media accounts, and the issue was noticed immediately.
“It has been removed. I would like the public to know that I will not allow such behavior during my term as president, no matter what great success will come in the end.”
Meanwhile Eden Karzev, another Israeli playing in the top flight of Turkish soccer, is facing a disciplinary investigation by his club, Istanbul Basaksehir, over a social media post.
Basaksehir said on X on Monday that Karzev “violated the club’s disciplinary instructions by posting on his personal social media account that contradicts the sensitivities of our country.”
The club did not specify the exact post in question. According to Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber, the 23-year-old re-posted an image from another account marking 100 days since hostages were taken by Hamas with the hashtag “BringThemHomeNow.
CNN has contacted Basaksehir for further comment.
This isn’t the first time that a soccer player has become embroiled in controversy over the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Earlier this month, Algerian Youcef Atal, who plays for French club OGC Nice, was handed a suspended sentence and a €45,000 fine ($49,000) following a social media repost about the conflict.
According to Reuters, which cited French newspaper Nice-Matin, Atal republished a 35-second video by a Palestinian preacher who called on God to send “a black day over the Jews.”
Turkey-Israel diplomatic relations
Turkey became the first Muslim nation to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in 1949, a year after Israel’s founding. The two states’ relationship has seen a wide range of cooperation, especially on trade – which in 2022 reached $8.91 billion, according to Turkish media.
The Palestinian issue has, however, caused repeated rifts between Ankara and Israel.
In 2009, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, then-Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan – now Turkey’s president – engaged in a heated spat with then-Israeli President Shimon Peres over violence in Gaza, telling him, “When it comes to killing, you know killing very well.”
In 2010, after Israel’s attack on a Gaza-bound boat traveling in international waters and carrying humanitarian supplies, Turkey expelled Israel’s ambassador in another diplomatic spat.
Israel eventually apologized for its attack, which killed nine people, leading to restored ties in 2016 that lasted for just two years, until both countries again recalled ambassadors in 2018 after 60 protesters denouncing the controversial relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem were killed by Israeli troops at the Gaza border.
Turkish-Israeli ties had been on the mend before October 7. Erdogan met with President Isaac Herzog in 2022 and, in September, met face-to-face with Netanyahu for the first time at the United Nations General Assembly. The brief thaw in ties quickly collapsed after the Hamas attack and Israel’s carnage in Gaza.
Less than two weeks into the war, Israel ambassador to Ankara, Irit Lillian, left Turkey along with other Israeli diplomats, Turkish media reported.
Gallia Lindenstrauss, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, said that Turkey’s sharp criticism of Israel is very popular both at home and in Muslim countries, adding that public opinion likely plays a role in events unfolding today.
“Turkish public opinion on the matter is important and there has been a push from the public and the opposition to show an even harsher stance against Israel than the government is currently doing,” Lindenstrauss told CNN. “Obviously, Erdogan does not have to work hard to convince the public to support the Palestinian cause.”
Jehezkel’s gesture was misunderstood and misrepresented, Lindenstrauss added, which is “a clear indication that Turkey and the Turkish public have very little understanding of Israel’s interpretation of the events that unfolded on October 7.”
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CNN’s Nadeen Ebrahim contributed to reporting.
