Employees of Turkish construction company active in Israel will be illegal if their government does not renew trade agreement with J´lem. Some 800 Turkish citizens protested in front of the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, lobbying for their government and Israel to renew the trade agreement which allows them to work legally in Israel.

The protesters are employees of Turkish construction company Yilmazlar which has carried out several projects in Israel as part of a military commerce agreement between the two countries.

The contract which allows Yilmazlar to operate in Israel is set to expire at the end of the year. Turkey has failed to renew the agreement amidst tensions between the two governments.

Yilmazlar is afraid that at the end of the year their employees will be deemed illegal and this will effect the various projects they are working on in Israel.

The company requested that the Foreign Ministry allow their employees an extension of their work permits until Turkey decides whether to renew the commerce agreement with Israel. (© 1995 - 2010 The Jerusalem Post. 12/28/10)