Delegation from Turkish far-right party briefly detained in Israel

“Israeli police have detained our deputy leader İlker Kayalıoğlu and other party members for interrogation for an hour and a half,” read a tweet posted on the BBP’s official account, while adding that party leader Mustafa Destici refused to go through passport control before the other party members arrived.

The delegation was released after Israeli police took their testimonies. 

Speaking upon their arrival in Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport on May 5, Destici said Israeli police wanted to detain Kayalıoğlu, to which Destici said he objected by saying it was wrong and there was no reason for them to conduct such an act. 

“But they insistently said that would realize [the detention]. They showed no reason. They [Israeli police officers] said, ‘You should not intervene, or we will also detain you by calling security,’” Destici was quoted as saying by state-run Anadolu Agency. 

Destici said he told the police officers he would not leave before Kayalıoğlu was released, adding that two of their party members were released after one-and-a-half hours of interrogation. 

“We made it to our flight at the last minute,” he said. 

The BBP members had arrived in Jerusalem on May 1 and visited the Al Aqsa Mosque during their four-day-long stay in the country.