Israeli soccer player Sagiv Jehezkel was briefly detained last Sunday in Antalya, Turkey, after making a gesture of solidarity with Israeli hostages in Gaza. Antalyaspor suspended Jehezkel over the weekend after showing his bandaged wrist which had the message “100 days, 7/10”. The message was about Sunday marking 100 days since 240 Israelis were taken back to Gaza as hostages, it is estimated that over 132 are still alive.
According to a report by BBC, the Turkish Football Federation described Jehezkel’s actions as “unacceptable”, and said the decision by Antalyaspor to exclude him from the squad was “appropriate”, a sentiment that seemingly aligns with the Turkish government’s position.
Since the events on Sunday, Jehezkel has been released and is back in Israel. Turkey’s Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation had been launched and called the soccer player’s display an “ugly action supporting Israel’s massacre in Gaza”.
“I did not act to provoke anybody. I want the war to end. This is why I showed that sign,” said Jehezkel according to a leaked Turkish police report widely cited across Turkish media via CNN. The story continues to develop at the time of this issue.
