Israel football player leaves Turkiye after arrest for commemorating 100 days of ongoing Gaza war

Israeli football player Sagiv Jehezkel has left Turkiye after Turkish authorities released him, following his initial arrest for commemorating 100 days since the start of Israel’s ongoing war against Gaza during a football match.

After scoring a goal for his team – Antalyaspor – in a match against opposing team Trabzonspor last week, Jehezkel was seen in photos displaying a bandage on his left wrist with the Star of David and the words “100 days”, referring to the amount of time that had transpired since Palestinian resistance group Hamas’s operation into Israeli-held territory surrounding Gaza on 7 October, which resulted in Israel’s ongoing war on the besieged strip.

Turkish police then detained the footballer in the coastal city of Antalya, with a statement by Antalyaspor announcing its board’s decision to exclude Jehezkel from its squad for “acting against the national values of our country”. According to the club’s spokesman Murat Ozgen, it was awaiting court proceedings before terminating the player’s contract.

On Sunday, Turkiye’s justice minister announced an investigation into Jehezkel over the incident for suspected “incitement to hate”. Turkish authorities have since released the footballer, however, with Israel’s Foreign Ministry announcing yesterday that he would return to Israel the same day. He arrived in the country yesterday evening to a crowd cheering for him and news outlets seeking to interview him.

MOSSAD’ın futbol propaganda aparatı Siyonist Sagiv Jehezkel, Türkiye’den sınır dışı edildikten sonra İsrail’de kahramanlar gibi karşılandı! Doğru iş yaptık..! pic.twitter.com/vKlEA9Jj4g

— Mehmet Ardıç 🇹🇷 (@MehmetArdic_) January 15, 2024

The Turkish police’s initial arrest and detention of Jehezkel ignited condemnation from Israel, with Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant today accusing Turkiye of serving as a “de facto executive arm of Hamas”.

According to Turkish broadcaster NTV, Jehezkel insisted that “I did not act to incite or provoke anyone. I am not a pro-war person”. He clarified that “there are Israeli soldiers held hostage 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 message here”. He also apologised to the entire Turkish people over the incident.

READ: Gaza: 10,000 children killed in nearly 100 days of war