An Israeli couple held in Turkey for suspected espionage after photographing the president’s palace was set free early Thursday morning, returning to Israel on a private jet sent by the government to bring them home.
“After joint efforts with Turkey, Mordi and Natali Oknin were released from prison and are on their way home to Israel,” said a joint statement from Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announcing their release. “We thank the President of Turkey (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) and his government for their cooperation and look forward to welcoming the couple back home,” the statement said, adding that Israeli President Isaac Herzog had also significantly contributed to efforts to end the saga.
The Foreign Ministry sent a jet, along with two senior consular officials, to bring them back and they arrived in Israel after 6 a.m.
The couple was arrested in Istanbul last week after they photographed Erdogan’s palace in Istanbul while on tour and sent the photo to their family. Media reports have said thousands of tourists — including Israelis — regularly take photos of the palace. Initial hopes that the misunderstanding would quickly be cleared up were dashed last week when a judge ordered them held for an additional 20 days on suspicion of espionage. Times of Israel
{Matzav.com Israel}
