Fifteen Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel under the terms of the Gaza ceasefire have arrived in Turkey, foreign minister Hakan Fidan said on Tuesday.
鈥楢 few days ago, 15 Palestinians came to Turkey via Cairo after they were released,鈥� 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.
Meanwhile, a gunman attacked an Israeli military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, fatally wounding two soldiers before troops shot him dead, the military said.
The shooting took place in the morning at a military post in Tayasir in the northern part of the West Bank, the military said in a statement.
鈥楢 terrorist fired at the soldiers at a military post in Tayasir,鈥� it said, adding the troops killed the gunman during a shootout.
Two other soldiers were 鈥榮everely injured鈥� in the attack, while six were slightly wounded.
Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad praised Tuesday鈥檚 鈥榟eroic鈥� attack on the checkpoint, saying 鈥榯he resistance will continue until the occupation is defeated鈥�.
Israeli forces have been engaged in what the army says is 鈥榓n operation to thwart terrorism鈥� in and around the northern city of Jenin, long a hotbed of militancy.
Israeli commander Major General Avi Bluth, who is responsible for the West Bank, said Tuesday鈥檚 attack showed the 鈥榥ecessity鈥� of continuing with the offensive in the northern part of the territory.
鈥楾his morning鈥檚 engagement with a despicable terrorist who emerged from the northern Samaria region is the demonstration of the necessity of the counterterrorism operation,鈥� Bluth told journalists when he visited the scene, vowing to 鈥榥eutralise鈥� militants in the area.
On Sunday, the army said it had killed at least 50 militants since it launched the operation on January 21. The Palestinian health ministry said on Monday that Israeli forces had killed 70 people in the territory since the start of the year.
