ANKARA, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Turkish police detained 20 students on Wednesday after they pelted Israel's ambassador with eggs to protest at the Jewish state's offensive in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, Turkish media said.
The protest took place at the entrance of a university in the Black Sea city of Trabzon as Israel's ambassador Gabby Levy was leaving the campus, state-run Anatolian news agency said.
Hurriyet newspaper said police detained 20 students who had chanted slogans such as "We don't want baby killers!" and "Israel out from our university!"
Diplomatic ties between Muslim Turkey and its ally Israel have suffered since Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip last December and January in which Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of committing crimes against humanity.
Last month, NATO member Turkey barred Israel from a NATO exercise, a decision that angered Israel and prompted rare criticism from Turkey's ally the United States.
The worsening of ties between Israel and European Union candidate Turkey coincides with diplomatic steps by Ankara to forge closer ties with Iran and Syria, a development that has prompted some analysts to believe that Turkey is shifting away from the West.
Erdogan has denied Turkey is turning its back on the West and has said his country has "one face looking to the West and another face looking to the East".
(Writing by Ibon Villelabeitia; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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