An Israeli couple arrested by Turkey on espionage charges returned home after they were released by authorities. Immediately following the release of the couple, who had been detained for eight days, Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Naftali Bennett held a phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and thanked him for his effort to free the couple.
Upon their arrival home, the couple—Natalie and Mordi Oknin—thanked those who had worked to secure their release, especially PM Bennett, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, and President Isaac Herzog. “We want to thank the people of Israel and just want to be with our family,” they said.
The Oknins along with a Turkish citizen were detained by Turkish officials last week on espionage charges for taking pictures of President Erdoğan’s residence from the Küçük Çamlica telecommunications tower in Istanbul. Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency reported that staff from the tower’s restaurant section, who saw the couple taking the photographs, immediately alerted the police. The three individuals were initially detained for questioning and later arrested on charges of military and political espionage. Israel rejected the espionage charges and launched an intense diplomatic effort, involving the Israeli foreign ministry, to secure the release of the couple.
“We saw that everyone was taking pictures. If it was so critical, they should have told us that taking pictures is forbidden,” Mordi Oknin told reporters. He added, “We didn’t even think of the word ‘spy.’ It was not in our minds to get into such a situation.”
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid spoke with Mordi and Natali Oknin, who were released from prison in Turkey and came back home to Israel.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) November 18, 2021
Take a look at this special moment: pic.twitter.com/9e40AuF8r2
The decision to release the couple was hailed by Bennett, who thanked Erdoğan for his role, in the first-ever phone call between the two leaders. A statement released by Bennett’s office said that the PM had “expressed appreciation” for the Turkish President’s “personal involvement” in returning the couple and praised Turkey’s “handling of the issue, at all echelons.”
Following the release, Erdoğan and his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog also held a phone conversation to discuss bilateral and regional issues. Erdoğan underscored the importance of better Turkish-Israeli cooperation in maintaining “the security and stability of the Middle East” and noted that “differences of opinion could be minimised” if both sides “acted with mutual understanding.” The Turkish President also stressed the need to “restore peace, tolerance, and culture of coexistence in the region” and in this respect urged Israel to “restart the peace process” with Palestine.
Israel views the decision to release the couple as an effort by Turkey to defuse tensions, especially since Ankara has not asked for any deal in return. “There was no talk of price,” an Israeli diplomat involved in talks with Turkish officials told Haaretz on Thursday.
Erdoğan has been keen on improving ties with Israel and has taken several steps in this regard. In 2020, the Turkish President said that his country would like to have better relations with Israel and in the following year he held a phone call with Herzog to realise this goal.
Relations between the two countries have remained tense since the Mavi Marmara incident of 2010, when Israeli commandos forcibly boarded a Turkish flotilla on its way to the Gaza Strip and killed ten Turkish activists. Israel’s settlement policy in the West Bank and Turkey’s support for Hamas have also acted as major roadblocks in re-establishing normal relations.