ISTANBUL: Fifteen Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire have arrived in Turkey, foreign minister Hakan Fidan said on Tuesday.
“A few days ago, 15 Palestinians came to Turkey via Cairo after they were released,” he told a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty.
The former detainees were issued visas by the Turkish embassy in Cairo, he said.
The first phase of the Gaza ceasefire saw the release of 33 Israeli hostages held by Hamas in return for the freeing of around 1,900 prisoners, mostly Palestinians, being held in Israeli jails.
Upon their release, many of those prisoners were to be permanently exiled, with Fidan saying in Doha on Sunday that Turkey could take in a number of them.
In 2011, Turkey took in 11 Palestinians who were freed as part of a prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas that saw Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit released in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian detainees.