Dor and Hadas Sitalkol, an Israeli couple who returned from a vacation in Turkey this week, told Channel 12 News about a frightening scenario they experienced in an Istanbul restaurant.

“My wife and I were sitting in a restaurant that was half-empty when two Iranians came in and sat next to us despite the fact that the restaurant was half empty,” Dor said. “They kept on staring at us.”

“They sat very close to us and watched what we were doing. They acted suspiciously – switching from Farsi to English and leaving the restaurant and coming back in again. At a certain point, they asked the waiter where we’re from.”

“We were terrified. It seemed like they were following us. We left the restaurant in the middle of our meal, returned to our hotel, and didn’t leave our room until that night when we drove to the airport for our flight home.”

“People need to understand that this isn’t a joke. There are really Iranians in Turkey who are apparently searching for Israelis. It’s dangerous.”

Israeli media outlets reported on Tuesday that an Israeli citizen claimed that he narrowly escaped a kidnapping attempt in Istanbul, saying that he physically fought off the potential kidnappers. Last week, an Israeli couple was whisked back to Israel by Israeli security officials after being informed that Iranian assassins were waiting for them at their hotel.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)