JAKARTA - Israel is seeking to free a pair of its citizens arrested in Turkey and has denied accusations by Turkish state media that the two were spies.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he had spoken to the families of the two Israelis, Natali and Mody Oknin, and informed them of the latest developments on their repatriation efforts.

The couple, said Bennett, "as officials have emphasized, do not work for any Israeli agency".

"The most senior officials in Israel are dealing with this issue throughout the weekend, led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will continue to try to find a solution as quickly as possible," he said, quoted by Antara, Sunday.

A Turkish court arrested a pair of Israelis on Friday on charges of espionage by taking pictures of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's residence from Camlica Tower, a telecommunications tower in Istanbul with an observation deck, Turkish news agency Anadolu reported.

Anadolu said a worker alerted police after seeing the couple photographing the Erdogan residence from the tower restaurant.

The news agency said a Turkish national who accompanied the two couples was also arrested on charges of political and military espionage.


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