Istanbul — A Turkish court on Monday released pending trial an Israeli soccer player who was detained after displaying a message referring to the Israel-Hamas war during a first division match. Sagiv Jehezkel, 28, displayed a bandage on his wrist reading “100 days. 07/10” next to a Star of David when he celebrated scoring a goal for Antalyaspor against Trabzonspor on Sunday.
Turkish prosecutors launched a criminal investigation over Jehezkel’s alleged “incitement to hate,” and his club tore up the player’s contract for “exhibiting behavior that goes against our country’s sensitivities.”
NTV television reported that a private plane had been sent from Israel on Monday to pick up Jehezkel and his family so that they could return home.
Antalyaspor’s Israeli player Sagiv Jehezkel shows his bandage which has “100 days, 7.10” written on it, referring to the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel, after scoring a goal against Trabzonspor during their Turkish Super League soccer match in Antalya, Turkey, Jan. 14, 2024.
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Jehezkel’s detention was furiously condemned on Monday by top Israeli officials, sending relations between the two regional powers to a new low.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant slammed the “scandalous arrest” of Yehezkel as “an expression of hypocrisy” by Turkey, to which he said his nation had quickly offered aid in the wake of a devastating earthquake last year. Gallant said that with its action against the soccer player, “Turkey serves as the executive arm of Hamas.”
In testimony to the police, Jehezkel said he “did not intend to provoke anyone.”
“I am not a pro-war person,” the private DHA news agency reported him as saying.
The message on the bandage referred to the 100 days since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, which was marked on Sunday. On Oct. 7, Hamas militants launched an attack in Israel, killing about 1,200 people and abducting around 240 others, 132 of whom remain in Gaza, according to Israeli officials.
In retaliation, Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a relentless military campaign that has killed at least 23,968 people in the Palestinian territory, most of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has become one of the Muslim world’s harshest critics of Israel over the scale of death and destruction in Gaza.
Jehezkel displayed the Star of David – a symbol of Judaism featured on the Israeli national flag. He said he never intended to get involved in politics and was careful to respect Turkish cultural sensitivities since signing with the Mediterranean coast club in September.
“After all, there are also Israeli soldiers taken prisoner in Gaza. I am someone who believes that this 100-day period should end now. I want the war to end. That’s why I showed the sign,” he reportedly told the police. “Since the day I arrived, I have never disrespected anyone. The point I wanted to draw attention to was the end of the war.”
Antalyaspor said it had sacked Jehezkel for having “acted against the values of our country.”
“Our board will never allow behavior against the sensitivities of our country no matter if it costs championship or trophy,” the club said in a social media post.
The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) also condemned what it said was “completely unacceptable behavior” by Jehezkel and said Antalyaspor’s decision to exclude the player from its team was “appropriate.”
In a separate incident, Istanbul’s top-flight side Basaksehir said it was launching a disciplinary investigation into another Israeli player, Eden Karzev, for reposting a social media message about the hostages reading: “Bring Them Home Now.”
Istanbul — Turkey will hold national elections on Sunday that look set to be the toughest test of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s long political career. After ruling the country for two decades, polls showed Erdogan neck-and-neck with rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate fielded jointly by the opposition Nation’s Alliance.
Erdogan was applauded during his first decade as leader for transforming Turkey into an economic and political success story, but over the last 10 years he’s faced mounting criticism — both domestically and internationally — for quashing dissent and adopting rules and laws typical of autocratic regimes.
Once a poster child for developing nations, Turkey is also currently battling high inflation and a cost-of-living crisis, both of which are regularly blamed by opponents and economists on Erdogan’s unorthodox economic policies.
Erdogan’s chief rival, KiIicdaroglu, is a secular social democrat politician who has emphasized messages of freedom and democracy on the campaign trail. The opposition alliance he represents has promised to roll back constitutional changes introduced after a 2017 referendum that significantly expanded the powers of the presidency, and to bring back the parliamentary system.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses supporters at the AK Party’s “Great Istanbul Rally” on May 7, 2023, in Istanbul, Turkey, ahead of the May 14 election.
Ercan Arslan /dia images via Getty Images
To win the election outright a candidate must secure more than 50% of the votes. Polling suggests that’s unlikely, so the nail-biting race between the two leading candidates could easily carry on to a second round of runoff voting, which would be held on May 28.
Below is a look at why Turkey’s national elections will be followed closely around the world.
NATO expansion
Turkey is a member of the NATO military alliance, and it has the second-largest army among all 31 members, behind only the U.S. But relations between Ankara and its NATO partners haven’t always been smooth.
Last year, Erdogan frustrated his allies by blocking Sweden and Finland’s bids to join the alliance, which were prompted directly by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Although Turkey lifted its block on Finland’s accession last month, allowing the country to join, talks with Sweden fell through.
Erdogan argues that Sweden doesn’t take Turkey’s domestic security concerns seriously and provides refuge to militants from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, a banned group that’s fighting an insurgency against the Turkish state.
Unal Cevikoz, a senior aide on foreign affairs to Erdogan’s challenger Kilicdaroglu, told CBS News the opposition alliance has noted “positive steps” taken by Sweden concerning Turkey’s security concerns, and it hopes the Nordic nation’s NATO membership won’t be delayed “too much,” signaling support for the Swedish accession bid.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the joint presidential candidate of the Nation Alliance, attends a campaign rally in Aydin, Turkey, on May 10, 2023.
Omer Evren Atalay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Turkey-U.S. ties
Located on the very border between the Eastern and Western worlds, Turkey is a strategically significant ally and partner for the U.S. unilaterally as well as in the context of NATO.
Relations between the two countries spiraled downward after Turkey purchased S-400 long-range missile systems from Russia in 2019, however, and there have been other points of contention.
The U.S. said the missile purchase would endanger American military technology, and hit Turkey with sanctions in response.
Another sore point is Muhammed Fethullah Gülen. The Turkish dissident has lived in exile in the U.S. for years. Turkey alleges that his organization, which it also considers a terrorist group, was behind a 2016 coup attempt and has long demanded that the U.S. hand him over.
But despite the differences, Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has pledged to strengthen ties with the U.S. and ensure tangible steps are taken to resolve all the disputes.
In an interview with the BBC, Kilicdaroglu said he wants to prioritize relations with the West, rather than Russia.
Turkey as a mediator, and ties with Russia
Erdogan has cultivated a close personal relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Not long after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Turkish leader declared himself a mediator.
Initial talks hosted in Turkey failed to make any headway, but a deal brokered by the United Nations in 2022 and supervised by Turkey has enabled the export of some 25 million tons of grain from Ukrainian ports to ease a global food crisis. That deal is set to expire in about a week, and Russia has so far objected to its renewal. Turkey remains directly involved in the extremely tense negotiations over the agreement’s renewal.
Erdogan has refused to implement Western sanctions against Russia, and trade between the two countries has soared since the Ukraine invasion. Turkey is an energy-poor country, and it helps export Russian gas around the world. Russia is also funding and building Turkey’s first nuclear power plant.
Cevikoz, the aide to Erodgan’s challenger, said the opposition alliance did not “approve” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and, if their candidate wins, they would “continue to facilitate” solutions for the problems between Russia and Ukraine.
Turkey’s role in the region
Erdogan’s ambitious foreign policy has made Turkey a key player in the Middle East.
Turkey openly supported some of the rebel factions that battled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, and it has provided safe haven for Syrian opposition members. But Turkey also occupied portions of northwest Syria in 2019, citing security concerns from Kurdish rebel factions, and still controls a vast area of land where 4.5 million people live.
Turkey currently has the world’s largest refugee population, with some 4 million displaced people living in the country. Most are Syrians, though there are also large number of Iraqis, Iranians and Afghans. The high numbers and Turkey’s geographic location have made the country a de-facto gatekeeper for the European Union: Ankara signed a deal with the EU to limit the number of asylum seekers reaching European soil.
But a shift in public opinion on refugees, including rising populist rhetoric against them, prompted Erdogan to take steps towards reconciliation with the Assad regime in Syria.
Turkey’s political opposition has vowed to facilitate the return of refugees to Syria if it comes to power, but it has not provided details on how they would do it.
Funerals for miners killed in a coal mine explosion in northern Turkey began Saturday as officials raised the death toll to at least 41 people.
Desperate relatives had waited all night in the cold outside the state-owned Turkish Hard Coal Enterprise’s mine in the town of Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, hoping for news. There were 110 miners working several hundred meters below ground at the time of the explosion on Friday evening.
Their wait turned to devastation by Saturday noon. Women cried at the funeral of miner Selcuk Ayvaz, whose coffin was wrapped in the red and white Turkish flag.
Relatives of missing miners gather in front of the state-owned TTK Amasra Muessese Mudurlugu mine in Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, Turkey, Oct. 15, 2022.
Khalil Hamra/AP
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived at the scene and said the body of one missing miner had been reached, confirming 41 were dead. Erdogan was flanked by officials, miners and rescuers, as he vowed to bring an end to mining disasters.
“We don’t want to see deficiencies or unnecessary risks,” Erdogan said, and added that an investigation would reveal those responsible for the blast.
Eleven were injured and hospitalized, with five in serious condition, while 58 others managed to get out of the mine on their own or were rescued unharmed.
Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said rescue efforts were almost complete. Earlier, he had said that a fire was burning in an area where more than a dozen miners had been trapped. Work to isolate and cool the fire continued, he said.
Preliminary assessments indicated that the explosion was likely caused by firedamp, which is a reference to flammable gases found in coal mines, Donmez said overnight. Three prosecutors were investigating the blast.
Rescue workers and relatives gather after a firedamp explosion at the mine quarry of the Turkish Hard Coal Institution Amasra Enterprise Directorate on Oct. 15, 2022.
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A miner who works the day shift said he saw the news and hurried to the site to help with the rescue.
“We saw a frightful scene, it cannot be described, it’s very sad,” said Celal Kara, 40. “They’re all my friends … they all had dreams,” Kara, who has been a for 14 years, told The Associated Press after exiting the mine, his face covered in soot.
Ambulances were on standby at the site. Rescue teams were dispatched to the area, including from neighboring provinces, Turkey’s disaster management agency, AFAD, said. Dark smoke rose from the entrance of the mine, which is surrounded by forests.
A mining technician from TTK told broadcaster NTV that his team of rescue and occupational safety personnel arrived at the site Friday night. Ismail Cetin said they went down into the mine and walked about 2½ kilometers (1½ miles) with their kit and stretchers. They recovered nine bodies, whom he called “mine martyrs.”
Countries across the world offered their condolences to Turkey. Greece’s prime minister offered rescue assistance even though relations between the two neighbors have recently been particularly tense.
Separately, Turkish police said in a statement that legal action would be taken against 12 people who allegedly shared provocative content about the mine explosion to incite hate on social media.
Turkey’s worst mine disaster was in 2014, when 301 miners died after a fire erupted inside a coal mine in the town of Soma, in the west of the country. Five months later, 18 miners were killed in central Karaman province after a flood in a coal mine.
The head of DISK, a left-wing trade union, said in a statement they were “sad and angry” because deaths were preventable and the union’s safety suggestions were ignored. Even though more inspections were mandated after the Soma tragedy, DISK’s leader Arzu Cerkezoglu claimed some precautions were ignored for profitability, calling Friday’s explosion a “massacre.”
