National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir on Monday refused a request of the Turkish Embassy for information about two Turkish citizens, Aidan Demirhan and Yoksal Hasonglu, who are serving their criminal sentences in an Israeli prison.
Ben Gvir added that he would also refuse visits of the two prisoners by Turkish diplomats if requested. He explained that Turkey supports Hamas, and so, if it wants information about the prisoners, it should pressure Hamas to allow Israel to visit the hostages in Gaza.
Incidentally, Demirhan, a Turkish foreign worker, was convicted of killing his girlfriend, dismembering her body, and scattering the body parts throughout Tel Aviv, the notorious case of “the body in the suitcase.” Demirhan was originally given life imprisonment for murder by the District Court, and years later the Supreme Court commuted his sentence to manslaughter.
Ben Gvir’s office issued a statement saying, “Unlike the inmates in the Israeli prison, our hostages did not commit a crime, did not murder, did not rape, and did not steal. Their only sin is that they are Jews and are breathing. If the embassy of Turkey, a country that supports Hamas, wants to meet with prisoners or receive information about them, let them be respectful and put pressure on Hamas to allow us to meet with our hostages in the Gaza Strip.”
