The Palestinian gunman who held two people hostage for several hours at the Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv yesterday is to remain in Israeli police custody until next week.
At a hearing, Nadim Injaz denied being “a crazy man”.
He said he had stormed the embassy on Hayarkon Street, and threatened to kill Jews, to draw attention to his demands for political asylum in Europe.
However the Ramallah resident’s claim — that his life was in danger because he was once an informant for Israel — was not confirmed.
Officials said they suspected Mr Injaz was staying illegally in Israel.
They also said that he had been released from prison just days earlier, after serving a jail sentence because of a similar incident at the British Embassy in Israel in 2006.
On both occasions Mr Injaz wielded a plastic gun, and Turkish diplomats said that he was also carrying a knife yesterday.
The stand-off was resolved after Mr Injaz, who had been shot by security guards, was taken to hospital by Israeli paramedics.
Reports in the Turkish media said that the incident has prompted calls for Israel to improve security conditions at the embassy.
