Israeli travellers accused Istanbul airport staff of humiliating them and Turkish tourists complained of similar abuse at Israel's main airport, as ties between the two countries hit a new low on Monday. The Israeli foreign ministry said 40 Israelis were held for an hour and a half for questioning at Ataturk International Airport on Monday before they were released.
Passengers quoted by Israel's public radio said they were subjected to "humiliating body searches" at the Turkish airport. They said Turkish airport security officers had told them several Turkish citizens were treated similarly while passing through Israel's Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on Sunday.
The incidents came as tensions between the former allies reached new heights over a deadly May 2010 Israeli raid on a flotilla of ships that left nine Turkish citizens dead. A report from Istanbul quoted a group of Turkish tourists who said they had been separated from travellers of other nationalities and strip-searched by Israeli security officers, Anatolia news agency reported.
Following Monday's incident, the Israeli foreign ministry said it had received an "unusual" complaint that Israeli passengers on the Turkish Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul had been singled out for questioning. "It was a Turkish Airlines flight that landed in Istanbul, about 40 passengers were detained," deputy foreign ministry spokesman Ilana Stein told.
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