Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir has refused to approve a request relayed by the Turkish Embassy to get information on two Turks serving sentences in an Israeli prison, Israel Hayom has learned because of the country's ties to Hamas.
Ben-Gvir was asked by the Israel Prison Service what the Israeli stance on the matter was and ultimately decided not to authorize the transfer of information to the Turkish embassy. He also said Israel would not allow the embassy to visit the inmates, saying that this was due to Turkey's support of Hamas. Ben-Gvir further noted that if the embassy wanted to get the information it would have to pressure Hamas to allow Israel to visit the captives in Gaza.
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The request received from the Turkish embassy pertains to the two criminal prisoners with Turkish citizenship, Eiden Demirhan and Yuksel Hasunglu.
Demirhan, a Turkish citizen who worked in Israel, was convicted of killing his girlfriend after dismembering her body and scattering the body parts around Tel Aviv, in a case known as "the body in the suitcase" case. Demirhan was initially sentenced to life imprisonment for murder by the district court, and years later the Supreme Court reduced his sentence and convicted him of manslaughter.
It should be noted that requests for information or visits from foreign representatives are not unusual, but due to the fact that Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have expressed support for Hamas – Ben-Gvir refuses to approve their request, even though these are criminal prisoners, not security prisoners, who were convicted several years ago. Just this past Saturday, Erdogan declared that his country "stands firmly" behind Hamas and that he was not willing to say that it is a terrorist organization.
A response from Minister Ben-Gvir's office stated: "Minister Ben-Gvir's position is very clear – whoever wants to receive, must also give. When there are requests from various embassies around the world asking for information and meetings with prisoners in jail, we must insist on the principle that we also demand to meet our people.
"Unlike the prisoners in Israeli jails – our captives have not committed crimes, have not murdered, have not raped, and have not stolen. Their only sin is that they are Jews and breathing. If the Turkish embassy, a country that supports Hamas, wants to meet with prisoners or receive information about them – they should go ahead and pressure Hamas to allow us to meet with our captives in the Gaza Strip."
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