After dedicating a goal to the hostages held by Hamas, an Israeli football player was detained and dismissed from his Turkish team; another Israeli player received criticism for endorsing those abducted by the terrorist organization.
Sagiv Jehezkel, an Israeli player, was held and questioned by Turkish police on Monday over a wrist-wrapped statement he had flashed during a top-tier competition, which referenced the passing of one hundred days since the October 7 Hamas assault in Israel, according to official media.
Sagiv Jehezkel: Detained
After Jehezkel’s left wrist was covered during a match with the words “100 days,” which refers to the date of the Hamas militant attack that sparked Israel’s war in Gaza, and a Star of David, he was taken into custody in Antalya.
Following Jehezkel’s arrest by the police, Israel’s defence minister charged on Monday that Turkey was acting as a “de facto executive arm of Hamas.” In a post on X, Yoav Gallant referred to Jehezkel’s treatment as “a manifestation of hypocrisy and ingratitude” and reminded Turkey of Israel’s prompt help during the earthquake last year.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey and a longtime advocate of the Palestinian cause, has called Israel a “terrorist state” and maintained that Hamas is a “group of liberators” ever since the conflict began.
Following Jehezkel’s dismissal from Antalyaspor due to the bandage incident, Turkey’s justice minister declared on Sunday that an inquiry into the event will be conducted for possible “incitement to hate.”
