Ben Gvir in online outburst calls for boycott against Turkey

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir lashed out at Turkey after an incident with Israeli footballer Sagiv Jehezkel over the weekend. 

Turkey is to deport the Israeli football player after he flashed a message written on his wristband marking 100 days since the 7 October assault by Hamas during a football match on Sunday. 

“Turkey acts toward Israeli players, and toward anything with a scent of Israeliness, with Nazism,” the far-right ultranationalist politician said in a post on X.

“Erdogan is a full-on Nazi,” he wrote about the Turkish president, adding "I urge Israelis not to fly to Turkey, not to buy any Turkish product and not to support them.

“The state of Israel and Israeli citizens must not act with forgiveness toward Turkey. We won’t let ourselves be trampled on.”

The prosecutor launched an investigation into the incident, arguing that the Israeli national might have been trying to incite the public. Jehezkel told police in his official testimony that he wasn’t trying to incite anyone.