Turkey says it has arrested 34 Mossad spies who planned to target Hamas in the country
Turkey has pulled off a major Israeli espionage plot on its soil, arresting 34 suspects on Wednesday who allegedly plotted attacks against foreigners in Turkey, particularly Hamas operatives.
A total of 46 arrest warrants were issued and the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor's Officesaid efforts were underway to capture the remaining suspects at large. They are all suspected of carrying out espionage activities on behalf of the Mossad intelligence agency.
According to Turkish media statements, “The investigation found that Israeli intelligence was behind activities targeting foreigners residing in Turkey, from reconnaissance to assaults and kidnapping attempts.”
However, “no other details about the investigation are available, but the Mossad has been involved in the past in investigations into attempted abductions of Palestinians living in Turkey.”
Indeed, Hamas operatives and some of the group's leaders are known to hide and conduct business in Turkey. Israel recently vowed to pursue the group's leadership abroad, perhaps with a Munich-style assassination campaign.
In early December, Turkish intelligence warned of “serious consequences” if Israeli agents searched for Hamas members abroad, or especially on Turkish soil. This was in response to the provocative words of Ronen Bar, head of the Israeli internal security agency Shin Bet. On that occasion he declared: “The cabinet has set us the objective, in simple terms, of eliminating Hamas. This is our Monaco. We will do it everywhere, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in Turkey, in Qatar."
Since then, relations between Israel and Turkey have deteriorated, almost to the point of completely severing official diplomatic relations. President Erdogan recently even compared his Israeli counterpart Netanyahu to Hitler.
Regarding the current “spy raid,” Turkish authorities say hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, as well as weapons and ammunition, have already been recovered:
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya shared a video of the operations conducted jointly by the police and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT). In a social media post, Yerlikaya said the operations arose from an investigation into international espionage activities. “We will not allow espionage to target our national unity,” Yerlikaya said. The minister said authorities discovered more than 143,000 euros ($157,300) and more than $23,000 in the suspects' possession, as well as a gun and a large quantity of ammunition.
Uluslararası Casusluk Faaliyetlerinin Tespit ve Deşifresine yönelik İstanbul merkezli 8⃣ İlde eş zamanlı olarak düzenlenen “KÖSTEBEK” Operasyonunda 3⃣3⃣ şüpheli şahıs yakalandı
Ülkemizin milli birlik ve beraberliğine karşı yürütülen casusluk faaliyetlerine asla izin… pic.twitter.com/cQDc9kq9E2
— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) January 2, 2024
But in an atmosphere of weekly denunciations and angry diplomatic demonstrations between Israel and Turkey, it is also easy to imagine that the arrest of 34 "Mossad spies" is an exaggerated event or even completely invented by Ankara to generate headlines and throw further shadow on Israel's reputation. It would be strange for Jerusalem to allow itself to be caught red-handed in this way.
Turkey's arrest and indictment of alleged Israeli spies is a recurring event, dating back well before the current Gaza war. A senior Turkish intelligence official warned on Monday: “In line with our previous warning that any attempt to operate illegally in Turkey would have serious consequences, we discourage all interested parties from undertaking similar activities.”
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The article Turkey claims to have arrested 34 Mossad spies who planned to target Hamas in the country comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-turchia-afferma-di-aver-arrestato-34-spie-del-mossad-che-pensava-di-colpire-hamas-nel-paese/ on Wed, 03 Jan 2024 07:00:49 +0000.