Turkey arrests Israeli couple accused of being spies

Turkish officials arrested an Israeli couple for espionage after they were caught taking photographs of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s home.

The couple was arrested along with a Turkish official after a staff member at the Camlica telecommunications tower reported that the trio took pictures of the presidential residence from the tower and showed them to each other, Turkey’s state-run news outlet Anadolu Agency reported.

Police detained the three people, which the outlet identified as “Israeli NO and MO,” and Turkish citizen “İ.A.” They were later charged with “political and military espionage,” according to the outlet.

The Israeli news outlet Haaertz reported that the couple was Natalie and Mordi Oknin. According to the outlet, the couple had been photographing the Dolmabache Palace while sailing on a ferry.

The palace has been the presidential residence since 1923, but photographing the site was recently prohibited.

The couple will remain in detention pending trial, Haeertz reported.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid denied that the couple worked for an “Israeli agency,” The Associated Press reported. He added that the department is trying to organize the couple’s release.