An Arab member of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, hailed last week the sincere efforts made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to smooth the return of Palestinian students to their homeland.

MK Ahmad Tibi said in a statement that a Turkish Airlines plane carrying 110 students took off from Istanbul Airport to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv last Tuesday, despite the suspension of flights.

The students returned to their homes in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem.

Tibi, who is the head of Arab Joint List in the Israeli parliament, was quoted by Anadolu News Agency as stating that he sought help from an Israeli airline for the students' return. The request, however, was declined by Israel's security authorities.

When all his efforts went in vain, he approached Turkish president's office, which responded promptly, and arranged a flight for the students.

It was the last air journey before a temporary shutdown of Israeli airspace to curb the spread of coronavirus, and ahead of the Jewish Passover holiday.

"It is a kind human gesture that brought our students back in the middle of this global pandemic," Tibi said in his remarks for Erdogan.

The virus that was first detected in China has spread to at least 184 countries. So far, 1,857,670 people have been infected worldwide, while 114,393 have died.