Israel Expels Turkish Airline Pilot with Iranian Passport

Israeli media reports that the country's internal security service refused to allow even a one-night stay for a Turkish passenger airline pilot holding an Iranian passport and expelled him immediately. Mako, the news site of Israel's second television channel, stated that Shin Bet, Israel's internal security organization, also rejected Turkey's request for the pilot to enter Israel until the return of the passenger plane to Istanbul and expelled him on the first flight out of Israel. The pilot, whose name has not been disclosed, was under observation at Tel Aviv airport until his expulsion. According to Mako, this incident began when a Turkish Airlines flight landed from Istanbul to Tel Aviv, and the pilot, who entered the airport with the flight crew, showed his Iranian passport to the authorities. The Turkish Airlines flight landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Friday night, May 24. Mako referred to this pilot as a Turkish citizen, but there is a strong possibility that he is one of the Iranian pilots who were hired by Turkish Airlines in recent years, and Turkey granted them residency in the country. Mako noted that the large airline Turkish Airlines announced a year and a half ago that it was facing a shortage of experienced pilots and hired two hundred Iranian pilots. Iranian media have also recently confirmed that hundreds of Iranian pilots have been employed by global companies due to extensive sanctions imposed over the years that brought Iranian passenger airlines to the brink of bankruptcy. Mako described the incident on Friday night at Ben Gurion Airport as an 'unprecedented encounter' and added that Turkey's intervention was a 'rare request' to allow the pilot's entry 'only for one night' until the return of the plane to Istanbul. According to this report, Shin Bet's concern was about 'setting a precedent' for similar cases in the future. Mako reported that following midnight consultations by Shin Bet officials, Turkish Airlines was told that they must quickly return the pilot to Turkey, and this was done. Mako added that Turkish Airlines explained to Israel that using a pilot with an Iranian passport on a passenger flight from Turkey to Israel was a 'mistake.' According to this news, Turkish Airlines informed Israel that this would not 'repeat' and that they would no longer use Iranian pilots for passenger flights from Turkey to Israel. Despite the six-year tension in relations between Turkey and Israel, which began with the Israeli military's attack on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara carrying pro-Palestinian passengers, regular passenger flights from Istanbul to Israel and vice versa have continued, but Israel has suspended El Al flights to Turkey during these years. Israel claims to take the highest security measures for its safety and considers any matter, especially if related to aviation, with extreme sensitivity. Until recent years, the entry of Iranians into Israel, even if they held citizenship from other countries, faced significant restrictions from other parts of the world, but apparently, within the framework of escalating hostility between the Israeli government and the Islamic Republic of Iran, the entry of those connected to Iran in any way into Israel has been prohibited.