MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

By Attila Somfalvi – “About 40 Israeli passengers on board a Turkish Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul were held for several hours by local police on Monday after their passports had been taken away from them. The passengers said that the Turkish police officers were disrespectful, claiming that such an incident was unprecedented.

‘I think that the police officers didn’t even know what they were looking for,’ one of the passengers told Ynet. ‘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.’

‘They asked us why we came here, opened our bags, checked how much money we have and what we have on our laptops,’ he added.

Authorities in Jerusalem estimate that the detention of the Israeli passengers came in response to a recent incident during which Turkish citizens were detained for questioning by border police at Ben Gurion Airport.

Foreign Ministry officials said that no directive was issued regarding a change in the policy that concerns the reception of Israelis, and that there was no intention to single out Israelis that arrive in Turkey. ‘It was a mid-rank initiative that apparently came in response to the incident at Ben Gurion Airport,’ they said.

R’ and D’, businessmen who were on the flight said the attitude of the police officers at the airport was estranged. ‘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.'” Read more.