Israeli couple arrive home after being held in Turkish prison as suspected spies

An Israeli couple held in Turkey for suspected espionage after photographing the president’s palace was set free early Thursday morning, returning to Israel on a private jet sent by the government to bring them home.

“After joint efforts with Turkey, Mordy and Natali Oknin were released from prison and are on their way home to Israel,” said a joint statement from Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announcing their release.

“We thank the President of Turkey (Recep Tayyip Erdogan) and his government for their cooperation and look forward to welcoming the couple back home,” the statement said, adding that Israeli President Isaac Herzog had also significantly contributed to efforts to end the saga.

The statement also thanked the couple’s family “for their strength during this complicated time and for their cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

The Foreign Ministry sent a jet, along with two senior consular officials, to bring them back and they arrived in Israel shortly after 6 a.m.

Bennett and Lapid also spoke with their family members while they were waiting at the airport.

Speaking to their daughter Shiraz, Bennett said: “I told you we would do everything, and we did.”

Mordi (R) and Natali (L) Oknin on a flight back from Istanbul accompanied by Foreign Ministry officials Rina Dejersi and Haim Levi on November 18, 2021 (Foreign Ministry)

Bennett thanked the family for their restraint and said it played a crucial part in the effort to bring them home. “I hope you have quieter days now and I am happy they are returning home.”

Herzog welcomed them home, tweeting: “How good it is to have you home. We warmly embrace you and your family.”

The couple was arrested in Istanbul last week after they photographed Erdogan’s palace in Istanbul while on tour and sent the photo to their family. Media reports have said thousands of tourists — including Israelis — regularly take photos of the palace.

Initial hopes that the misunderstanding would quickly be cleared up were dashed last week when a judge ordered them held for an additional 20 days on suspicion of espionage.

The husband and wife were being held separately and granted intermittent access to an Israeli lawyer and Israeli consular officials.

Israel has firmly and formally rejected the allegation that the Oknins, both of whom are bus drivers for the Egged company, are spies.

Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Wednesday that it was “clear to all” that there was no reason for Turkish authorities to arrest the couple.

Screen capture from video of Mordy Oknin, left, and his wife Natali, right, with an unidentified Turkish man, on a street in Istanbul, November 2021. (Channel 12 news)

In addition to its own diplomatic efforts, Israel had enlisted the help of a third country in its attempts to free the couple, the Haaretz newspaper reported. The third country was working to pressure Turkey’s leaders to free…