An Israeli soccer player was arrested and fired from his club in Turkey after he dedicated a goal to the Hamas hostage crisis on Black Saturday more than 100 days ago.
Turkish police on Monday arrested and questioned Israeli player Sagiv Jehezkel over a message he wore on his wrist during a top-flight match that alluded to the passage of 100 days since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel, officials said state media with.
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said prosecutors were investigating Jehezkel for “inciting hatred and hostility” because he placed a note on his bandaged wrist that read “100 days, 7.10” and a Jewish Star of David emblem.
Jehezkel, 28, held up his clenched fist to deliver the message after scoring a goal for his team, southern Turkish club Antalyaspor, against Trabzonspor in the Turkish Süper Lig on Sunday.
Antalya prosecutor's office opened an investigation against Jehezkel “for his ugly gesture supporting Israel's massacre in Gaza after scoring a goal,” Tunc said on the social media platform X.
Sagiv Jehezkel (pictured) held up his clenched fist to show his bandaged wrist with the inscription “100 days, 7.10” next to a Jewish Star of David emblem
He said the gesture was in solidarity with the Israeli hostages, including Noa Argamani, who were captured by Hamas on October 7
Jehezkel was released pending trial, and Israeli media reported that a private plane was sent from Israel to pick him and his family up so they could return him home.
Turkish media reported that his club's boss, Sinan Boztepe, fired him, saying: “Our national values are above everything else.” No matter how much the player brings to the club. “We will terminate his contract.”
Despite the serious consequences, Israeli media reported that Jehezkel did not regret the gesture, saying: “It was a gesture for the Israeli hostages in Gaza, a humanitarian gesture.”
“It was important to me to point out that they have been in captivity for 100 days. I didn't want to provoke anyone. I know Turkish feelings, it was just a gesture.
“I just wrote the number 100 and symbolized half a heart with my hand.”
Pro-Israel supporters wave Israeli and pre-revolutionary Iranian flags as they gather for a demonstration in Trafalgar Square in central London on January 14, 2024
People hold up posters depicting Israeli hostages in Gaza and theirs in front of the Opéra Bastille in Paris, France, on January 14, 2024, during the “100 Days 100 Voices” event to mark 100 days since the October 7 Hamas attack demand release
Israeli singer David Broza performs at the Yellow Piano NYC on the 100th day since Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel in Washington Square Park on January 14, 2024 in New York City
“This shouldn’t incite anyone.” On the contrary, it should arouse compassion for the people who have been trapped there for so long.
Fighters from the Islamist group Hamas stormed through Israeli communities on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages.
The devastating war lasted 100 days on Sunday, with Israeli tanks and planes hitting targets in the southern and central Gaza Strip and fierce firefights in some areas.
Gaza's Health Ministry said the death toll from Israeli attacks is nearly 24,000 and more than 60,000 are injured.
Rallies in support of the hostages still held in Gaza were held in Israel and elsewhere on Sunday.
Turkey is a strong critic of Israel's war in Gaza, which was launched in response to the October 7 attack.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on January 1 that what Israel had done to Gaza was “no less than what Hitler did.”
In the weeks following Israel's ground and air strike on the Gaza Strip, Erdogan increasingly condemned Israel's actions as “genocide” and described Hamas as “freedom fighters.”