In Ankara, Turkey's interior minister, Besir Atalay, said Turkey had beefed up security to protect its Jewish minority and Israeli diplomatic missions. He said security provisions were intensified at 20 points in Istanbul alone. The city has several synagogues and Jewish centers that serve 23,000 people.

Despite these precautions, the Israeli government earlier on Wednesday decided to return most diplomats and all diplomats' families to Israel, The Jerusalem Post reported.