Israeli team faces protests in Ankara

Angry protesters in Turkey have staged a demonstration against the presence of an Israeli team at a volleyball tournament in their country.

Large numbers of people gathered near the sports hall in the capital Ankara on Saturday, calling on the government to expel the Israeli team, which is in Ankara for a women’s European Volleyball League tournament.

Chanting anti-Israeli slogans, the protesters were carrying posters of Furkan Dogan, the youngest of the pro-Palestinian activists killed in Israel’s May 31 attack on the Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla.

The demonstrators tried to force their way through a security barricade toward the sports hall where Serbia was playing against Israel in a game closed to spectators. The protesters were pushed back by the police.

Turkey has been the scene of angry anti-Israeli protests since Tel Aviv launched a deadly maritime attack on a Turkish-flagged convoy carrying relief supplies for the Gaza Strip.

Israeli navy commandos attacked the Gaza Freedom Flotilla while it was in international waters, killing nine Turkish nationals, including a Turkish-American teenager.

Ankara has demanded that Tel Aviv pay compensation to the families of the victims and formally apologize for the attack.

Earlier this month, an Israel-bound flight from Athens was delayed for two hours as protesters obstructed the airline’s check-in counters to protest the Israeli blockade of Gaza.

In February, an Israeli basketball team was pelted with bottles and forced to flee the court.