Turkey: Israel Was First to Humiliate Passengers at Airport

Turkish officials said Monday that Turkish tourists were harassed in Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport on Sunday evening, hours before dozens of Israeli citizens were questioned at length at Istanbul's airport the next morning.

• Dozens of Israelis Questioned at Length Upon Landing in Turkey

A group of Turkish tourists, who arrived in Israel for the holiday of Ramadan and visited Jerusalem, said that when they arrived at the airport, Israeli security personnel delayed them for several hours and ask them for personal details, including their phone numbers, email addresses, and marital status.

"They checked our luggage numerous times and later conducted a full body search. They made us undress to our underwear and also patted down all the women in separate rooms – only the Turkish passengers underwent such an examination," said one of the tourists.

According to the passengers, their flight was delayed due to the prolonged examination of the Turkish tourists' luggage, and the group's guide said that Turkish tourists were treated differently by Israeli security officials than the other tourists.

The Israel Airports Authority said in response that they are unaware of any out of the ordinary security checks that were carried out on the Turkish passengers.