Israel set to indict detained Turkish woman
Turkish national Ebru Özkan, who had been put under arrest by Israeli forces on June 11, will be charged with helping Palestinian group Hamas.
- Middle East
- Anadolu Agency
- Published Date: 12:00 | 08 July 2018
- Modified Date: 03:52 | 08 July 2018
Israeli prosecutors are set to charge a Turkish national on Sunday with aiding Palestinian group Hamas, according to Israeli daily Haaretz.
Ebru Özkan, 27, was arrested by Israeli forces at Ben Gurion Airport on June 11 when she was returning to Turkey for alleged links with terrorist groups.
Haaretz said Israeli prosecutors will file an indictment against the Turkish national on Sunday.
Her lawyer Omar Khamaysa says she was charged with asking to transfer money and a cellphone charger to Hamas members, but she wasn't aware of their identity.
Israel labels Palestinian group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, as a terrorist organization.
Özkan is not the first Turkish citizen to have been recently detained by Israeli authorities.
In January, Osman Hazır, a 46-year-old Turkish national, was arrested for snapping a selfie at East Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque while holding a Turkish flag.
And last December, Israel arrested two other Turks -- Abdullah Kızılırmak and Mehmet Gargılı -- after the pair had quarreled with Israeli police who had tried to bar them from entering the flashpoint holy site.
In the same month, Adem Koç, another Turkish national, was arrested inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for allegedly "disturbing the peace and taking part in an illegal demonstration".
Kızılırmak, Gargılı and Koç were all subsequently released on bail.