Saturday 22 November 2008

Top Israeli diplomats in Turkey kicked out of Istanbul university

The Israeli Ambassador to Turkey Gabby Levy and the Consul General Mordechai Amichai were driven out of the office of the Istanbul University rector because of the presence of their armed bodyguards, it emerged on Saturday.

The Foreign Ministry confirmed the details of the diplomatic incident, which has been covered extensively by Turkish and Arab media, including Al Jazeera.

The Turkish academic was apparently annoyed by the bodyguards, who entered his office without permission. He said he opened his office door and asked them to leave.

"Turkey is not an occupied territory where such arrogant behavior is acceptable," he said.

Israeli diplomats in Turkey are provided with Shin Bet protection, but it is customary to keep the presence of police and security personnel to the minimum on university campuses. The altercation erupted when the two diplomats failed to adhere to this unwritten rule.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

They withdrew their previous Ambassador to Britain and inserted another.

Some of course maintain Mr Blair fled to Israel...