A plane carrying 11 Palestinian prisoners released on Tuesday in an Israel-Hamas prisoner swap landed early Wednesday morning in Turkey, Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman reported. Earlier on Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told reporters that Ankara views the Israel-Hamas prisoner swap as a humanitarian issue. "Turkey is a country which (the Palestinians) should regard as their homeland," he added, according to the report. He rejected claims that the prisoners released to Turkey may pose a threat to the country, saying that "Regardless of whether we see the alleged crimes committed by them as a crime, this deal with Israel amounts to (the crimes) being written off."
