Two Israeli students from Rahat, a Bedouin town near Beer Sheva, were reportedly kidnapped last week by a gang in Turkey.
Saher Ibrahim Katnani and Saleh Muhammad Katnani who have been studying in Armenia apparently arrived in Turkey last Thursday to buy gold.
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The two were released on Saturday night with a ransom demand issued, before being released again without any money changing hands.
According to Israeli media, the kidnappers threatened to sell the students to Islamic State and send the young men to Syria if their families failed to pay the ransom of $170, 000, which later agreed to reduce the demand to $30, 000.
The families said they had lost contact with the pair for several days, only receiving a ransom demand on Thursday.
The family informed the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Israel Police when they received the demand.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not provide any further information, telling Haaretz that an investigation needed to be carried out before it could comment.
