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Basketball / Turks angry over Gaza abort Bnei Hasharon contest By Elad Zeevi Since the fighting in Gaza broke out, a lot has been said about reactions around the world to the violence. However, it's doubtful if any Israelis really felt this reaction as personally as the players of Bnei Hasharon did last night during their Group D game against Turk Telekom Ankara. The basketball game between the two teams was suspended yesterday after Turkish fans erupted in protests against the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, Turkish media reported. It would seem that watching a EuroCup game was the last thing spectators who came to the stadium had on their minds. They were more focused on shouting "death to the Jews" and waving Palestinian flags. Advertisement If it weren't for the advanced preparations by the Turkish police, which prevented the masses from attacking the Israeli players a few seconds before the opening whistle, a serious disaster might have transpired. A referee suspended the game between Ankara and Bnei Hasharon and ordered the players back to the dressing room after hundreds of Turkish fans began chanting "Israel, killers!" in an Ankara sports center, SkyTurk broadcaster reported. Despite Turkey's good ties with Israel and its secular Muslim nature, the violence in Gaza has sparked mass street protests and harsh criticism from the government. According to Zeev Baram, Bnei Hasharon's GM, the crowd started harassing the Bnei Hasharon players during warmups, as spectators "threw shoes and water bottles at us yelling 'death to the Jews' and other calls on behalf of Palestine." Baram observed, "Most of them did not even look like Telekom Ankara fans, but rather people who came to protest. It was horrible." The general manager said the tension grew just before game time. "A moment before jump ball, somebody in the stands whistled, and then the 2,500-3,000 people who were in the stands suddenly stormed toward the floor," he explained. "The large police force simply couldn't stop the masses. I yelled immediately to the players to run to the locker room. It's lucky we made it to the locker room without anyone getting hurt." The Turkish police, which has escorted the team since its arrival at the airport, drew commendations from Bnei Hasharon. "The police acted intelligently in that they didn't allow spectators to sit in the first four rows, otherwise we wouldn't have had enough time to flee. It was very scary. The Americans are particularly frightened, scared to death. They're just guys who came to play a game." The large police force took several long minutes before managing to clear the protestors from the parquet. "Many Muslims came to this game and not to cheer for Ankara," reported Turkish journalist Engin Kocabiyik, who was at the game. "The Israeli players ran for their lives, it was a scary atmosphere." Telekom Ankara had "no comment" after the game. Ironically, officials from ULEB, which oversees the EuroCup, are considering whether to slap Bnei Hasharon with a technical loss. The official line is that the team refused to play even after the crowd was kicked out of the hall. "We're not thinking about that at all," Eldad Aconis told Haaretz after the team returned to its hotel. "We want to do now is safely return to Israel. People who weren't here can't understand what went on here. A technical loss is a scandalous decision, and I hope if it is made it will be reversed." (Reuters contributed to this article) Bookmark to del.icio.us   Humanitarian initiative There is a way for Israel to prove it is committed to universal moral values. Top Targets An Islamist site is compiling a list of U.K. Jews to target over Gaza op.

Read & React Bradley Burston / A Jew's prayer for the children of Gaza Responses: 52 IDF: Shelled UN school in Gaza used as hideout by Hamas Responses: 100 ANALYSIS / Using aggressive tactics in Gaza to save soldiers' lives Responses: 23 Venezuela's Chavez: Gaza operation is a Palestinian 'holocaust' Responses: 26 Amira Hass: Lucky my parents aren't alive to see Israel bomb Gaza Responses: 40 More Headlines 23:29 Israel bombs south Gaza tunnels, tells local residents to flee 01:09 Barak: If cease-fire deal doesn't meet Israel's demands, Gaza operation will continue 21:55 Clashes resume in Gaza City after 3-hour humanitarian truce 22:58 Rice: Gaza truce needed, but must not allow return to 'status quo ante' 18:30 Defense sources: Even if Hamas agrees to truce, its armed wing may resist 23:37 25 Gaza rockets strike Negev over course of Wednesday 21:27 Obama vows to 'engage immediately' on Mideast once inaugurated 12:57 A Jew's prayer for the children of Gaza 18:20 Get up to the minute coverage of the warfare in Gaza directly to your email 11:35 ANALYSIS / Israel must double, triple, quadruple its medical aid to Gaza 14:34 Report: Islamist site compiling list of U.K. Jews to target over Gaza op 20:40 In battle for public opinion, IDF Web site puts female face forward 16:14 Israel defers vote on expanding Gaza ground op amid growing truce bids 22:00 Joe the Plumber named conservative Web site's war correspondent in Israel 14:53 Nasrallah: Hezbollah will make Lebanon war look like 'a walk in the park' 01:51 German court rules Nazi hit man unfit to stand trial 01:24 IDF reserve forces receive fictitious calls for duty in Gaza 21:35 WATCH: Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Zalman Shoval on Gaza conflict 21:33 U.S. rabbi raises $100,000 to buy care packages for IDF troops in Gaza 14:19 Amira Hass / 86 hours after Gaza home shelled, family still lacks medical aid Previous Editions Select Day 07 jan 06 jan 05 jan 04 jan 02 jan 01 jan 31 dec 30 dec 29 dec 28 dec 26 dec 25 dec

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