2-1-2024 (ISTANBUL) Turkey revealed on Tuesday (Jan 2) that it had apprehended 33 individuals suspected of planning abductions and engaging in espionage on behalf of Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that the suspects were apprehended during raids conducted across Istanbul and seven other provinces.
It remains unclear whether the suspects are Israeli nationals or locals suspected of collaborating with Mossad.
Video footage released by Yerlikaya’s office depicted armed security agents forcefully entering homes, breaking down doors, and handcuffing the suspects.
The Istanbul public prosecutor’s office stated that 13 additional suspects are still at large.
These raids come after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a warning of “serious consequences” if Israel were to target individuals associated with the Palestinian militant group Hamas who reside or work in Turkey.
Erdogan stated, “There is an insidious operation and sabotage attempts being made against Turkey and its interests,” following the announcement of the raids. He added, “We will definitely destroy this game.”
Relations between Turkey and Israel have deteriorated significantly since the outbreak of the war in Gaza three months ago.
Erdogan has emerged as one of the harshest critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Last week, the Turkish leader likened Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler and called on Israel’s Western allies to withdraw their support for the “terrorism” carried out by Israeli troops in Gaza.
Erdogan has recalled Ankara’s ambassador to Tel Aviv and advocated for the trial of Israeli commanders and political leaders at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Moreover, Erdogan’s ruling Islamic conservative AKP party organized one of Turkey’s largest anti-Israel rallies during the war, with tens of thousands of protesters taking to the streets of Istanbul.
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The Gaza war has brought an end to the gradual improvement in Turkish-Israeli relations, which culminated in the reappointment of ambassadors in 2022.
Israel and Turkey had resumed discussions on a major natural gas pipeline project in the Mediterranean Sea, which could have reshaped alliances in the Middle East.
In 2022, Turkey received gratitude from Israel for detaining a group of Turkish and Iranian nationals who were allegedly planning to murder and kidnap Israeli tourists in Istanbul.
Erdogan and Netanyahu briefly met on the sidelines of a United Nations meeting in New York in September and were considering holding a formal summit this year.
The Turkish intelligence agency, MIT, periodically conducts raids against suspected Israeli operatives in major cities such as Ankara and Istanbul.
Most of these individuals are accused of conducting surveillance on Palestinians residing in Turkey.
Istanbul had served as one of Hamas’s foreign political offices until the outbreak of the Gaza war.
Turkey informally requested that Hamas leaders leave, shortly after the militants launched raids into southern Israel on October 7, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures.
The militants also took around 250 people hostage, with Israeli officials believing that over half of them are still held in Gaza.
According to the Gaza health ministry, Israel’s ongoing military campaign, aimed at dismantling Hamas, has claimed the lives of approximately 22,000 individuals in Gaza since October 7, predominantly women and children.
UN agencies have expressed concern over the escalating humanitarian crisis faced by Gaza’s 2.4 million inhabitants, who continue to endure sieges and bombardment. Most of them have been displaced, seeking shelter in camps and tents and facing severe food shortages.
