Bennett To Speak With Erdogan After Turkey Releases Israeli Couple
Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will speak to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday, the first Israeli prime minister to do so since 2013, following the release of an Israeli couple from a Turkish prison where they were held for a week, accused of being spies after taking a photograph of the president’s palace in Istanbul.
Mordi and Natali Oknin, Israeli bus drivers from the center of the country, flew home to Israel early Thursday morning after their release. Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid issued a statement in which they thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government “for their cooperation.” They also thanked Israel’s President Isaac Herzog for his efforts. The couple arrived back in Israel on Thursday morning on a plane sent by the Foreign Ministry.
The couple spoke by phone with Bennett and Lapid after their return home to Modiin in central Israel. “(W)e want to tell you from the depths of our hearts – we do not take what you have done for granted. You turned worlds upside down. You were at our side. … You spoke with my family, my sisters, my brothers, my daughter Shiraz, with everyone. I know that the entire government joined in. You turned worlds upside down for us. This was not a given at all. We are profoundly grateful. We are strong thanks to you,” Natali Oknin told them.
The Kan national broadcaster reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation, that their release did not involve a deal with Ankara. Haaretz reported that Israel still will respond to the release with a “reciprocal gesture.”
Herzog spoke with Erdogan on Thursday morning. According to a readout of the conversation provided by his office, Herzog thanked Erdoğan for his “personal involvement and contribution to the Oknin couple’s return home to Israel.” Erdoğan “emphasized the importance that he attaches to relations with Israel, which he said were of key importance to the peace, stability, and security of the Middle East,” according to the readout.
