Israeli basketball team gets security clearance for Turkey tip-off
Ironi Nahariya to fly to Gaziantep on special plane with security team after Shin Bet initially balked at allowing players to travel to restive region near Syrian border
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Israeli security sources gave the okay for a local basketball team to fly to southern Turkey on Wednesday for a game, after initially nixing the trip over security concerns.
Ironi Nahariya will play Gaziantep in the away leg of the final 16 in the FIBA Europe Cup on February 22, after beating the Turkish side 96-75 in Israel earlier this month.
Last week Shin Bet security service barred the team from traveling to Turkey for the game due to “exceptional” safety concerns.
Gaziantep, in southeastern Turkey, lies near the restive Syrian border and has been the scene of several attacks attributed to Islamic State and Kurdish rebels.
Police in the city last week detained four suspected members of the Islamic State group and seized explosives and weapons intended for a “sensational” attack, Turkish news agency Dogan reported.
The Nahariya team said in a post on its Facebook page that Sports Minister Miri Regev intervened to get the game back on track.
The team will fly to Turkey on a special charter plane paid for by the ministry and the Israel Basketball Association, go to the stadium directly from the airport, and will fly back to Israel immediately after the game.
“Thanks to the insistence [of Regev and IBA chairman Amiram Halevy] and great efforts, the return match in Gaziantep is on as planned,” Ironi Nahariya chairman Nisim Alfasi said.
Head coach Eric Alfasi said the team would fly with a small contingent, leaving some trainers and coaches at home, and will bring a security team as well.
A statement by the Shin Bet last week said it had worked extensively with the Nahariya club’s management, sporting officials and Turkish security but had failed to find a solution which would allow the game to go ahead.
“In view of the exceptional threat level posed in the region where the game was to take place, it was decided to forbid the delegation from departing,” the Hebrew-language statement said.
Despite a recent uptick in Israeli tourism amid a diplomatic rapprochement, the Israeli government warns its citizens against travel to Turkey.
Four Israelis have been killed in terror attacks in Istanbul in the last year and several more injured.
AFP contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.