Israeli diplomats in Turkey work from home amid jitters over Jerusalem
Decision reportedly made before Sunday’s Amman embassy stabbing; Istanbul has seen a number of recent anti-Israel protests
The Foreign Ministry on Monday instructed employees at Israel’s diplomatic facilities in Turkey to work from home amid continued regional unrest over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
An unnamed diplomatic source told the Walla news site that the decision to order officials at the embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Istanbul to work from home was made prior to an attack Sunday at the Israeli Embassy in Jordan, during which an Israeli security guard shot dead two Jordanians after being attacked by one of them with a screwdriver, leading to a diplomatic standoff between the two countries.
A number of demonstrations have been held in Turkey against Israel’s decision to place metal detectors at the gates to the Temple Mount, which came after two Israeli police officers were shot dead just outside the compound on July 14 in a terror attack by three Arab Israelis who used guns they had smuggled into the holy site. Two of the protests took place outside Istanbul synagogues.
Turkey has been one of most vocal critics of the metal detectors, with a government spokesman saying last week that placing them was a “crime against humanity.”
President Recep Tayip Erdogan condemned the new security measures and denounced the “excessive use of force” by Israeli security forces during violent clashes with demonstrators in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Ties between Israel and Turkey, former close allies, deteriorated sharply a few years into the rise of Erdogan’s Islamic-focused movement to power in 2003, and ruptured following the May 2010 IDF raid on a Turkish vessel seeking to break Israel’s military blockade of the Gaza Strip, in which 10 Turks were killed.
Despite steps toward a detente in recent years, the relationship remains chilly.
AFP contributed to this report.
The Times of Israel Community.