JERUSALEM (JTA) — About 40 Israelis who arrived in Istanbul were detained and questioned.
The Israelis, mostly businesspeople, arrived Monday on a Turkish Airlines flight from Ben Gurion International Airport. They reportedly were separated from the other passengers, had their passports taken and were questioned for about 90 minutes.
Turkish officials told Israeli media that the previous day, a group of Turkish tourists who arrived at Ben Gurion Airport to return home after a Ramadan visit had been detained for questioning for several hours. The Israel Airports Authority told Haaretz that they were not aware of the extensive questioning and search.
The incidents come after Turkey threatened to take sanctions against Israel to a new level after Israel refused to apologize for its May 2010 raid on the Gaza-bound, Turkish-flagged ship Mavi Marmara that ended in the deaths of nine Turkish citizens.
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