“The Antalya public prosecutor’s office has opened a judicial investigation against Israeli footballer Sagiv Jehezkel for public incitement to hatred,” announced the Turkish Minister of Justice.
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An Israeli footballer who posted a message referring to the conflict between Israel and Hamas during a Turkish first division championship match was arrested as part of an investigation for “public incitement to hatred” and excluded from his team. “The Antalya public prosecutor’s office has opened a judicial investigation against Israeli footballer Sagiv Jehezkel (…) because of his odious celebration in favor of the massacre committed by Israel in Gaza”announced Sunday January 14 the Turkish Minister of Justice, Yilmaz Tunç, on the social network.
Several Turkish media, including the official Anadolu news agency and the private channel NTV, reported that the Antalyaspor player was taken into police custody on Sunday evening. Author of a goal during a meeting on Sunday in the Turkish Süper Lig, the 28-year-old player, who has eight caps with the Israeli national team, brandished the message during his celebration “100 days. 07/10”written on a bandage around his left wrist.
An action “against the values of our country”
This short message, referring to the 100 days that have passed since the bloody attack launched on October 7 by Hamas on Israeli soil, is interpreted by the Turkish Minister of Justice as a testimony of support for Israeli military operations launched in retaliation in the Strip. Gaza. “We will continue to support the oppressed Palestinians”wrote the Turkish minister, denouncing a “genocide” underway in Gaza.
The Antalyaspor club announced that it had excluded its Israeli player, recruited last September, accusing him of having “acted against the values of our country”. “We condemn the completely unacceptable behavior of footballer Sagiv Jehezkel during the match between Antalyaspor and Trabzonspor played today (…) and find Antalyaspor’s decision to exclude the player from its team appropriatereacted for its part the Turkish Football Federation (TFF). The necessary disciplinary proceedings and investigations against those responsible were immediately initiated.”
Since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a traditional ally of the Palestinian cause, has repeatedly described Israel as a“Terrorist state”believing that Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the European Union and several countries including the United States, was a “group of liberators”.