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Turkish police arrest 33 suspected Israeli Mossad spies in a large-scale operation in various regions in Turkey. Photo/REUTERS
ANKARA – Turkish police have arrested 33 people in various regions of the country for carrying out spying activities on behalf of Israel’s foreign intelligence agency; Mossad.
The massive operation was announced by Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on Tuesday.
Citing an Anadolu Agency report, Wednesday (3/1/2024), police detained these people in Istanbul and seven other provinces on charges of carrying out international espionage activities on behalf of the Mossad.
Dozens of spies have reportedly been tracking foreign nationals living in Turkey for humanitarian reasons.
The Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office said police had uncovered a network that intended to carry out surveillance, pursuit, assault and kidnapping operations against foreign nationals in Turkey.
Turkish police have previously dismantled a spy network targeting Palestinians living in the country.
However, this latest arrest follows comments by Ronen Bar, head of Israel’s domestic intelligence agency; The Shin Bet, which released a voice recording last month announcing that Israel was determined to kill Hamas leaders in any location, including Turkey.
“In Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in Turkey, in Qatar, everything,” he said in an audio recording broadcast by public broadcaster Kan in December 2023.
“It will take a few years, but we will be there to make it happen.”