Turkish police arrest 33 suspected Israeli spies
The suspects are said to have aimed to kidnap foreigners living in Turkey: During raids, special forces arrest 33 suspected employees of the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad. A firearm is also found during the searches.
Police in Turkey have arrested 33 people who, according to the Ministry of the Interior, were allegedly spying for the Israeli secret service Mossad. They are suspected of having targeted foreigners living in Turkey, according to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. In December, Turkey warned Israel of "serious consequences" if it attempted to take action against members of the radical Islamic Hamas outside the Palestinian territories. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had also made similar comments.
Unlike most of its Western allies and some Arab states, Turkey does not classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. Interior Minister Yerlikaya wrote on Platform X that the police had carried out raids in 57 locations in eight provinces as part of "Operation Mole" launched by the Istanbul public prosecutor's office and the MIT intelligence service.
The suspects presumably had the aim of identifying, monitoring, attacking and kidnapping foreigners living in Turkey. Among other things, around 150,000 euros and an unregistered firearm were found during the raids.
Turkish President Erdogan calls Israel a "terrorist state"
Footage was also published showing police searching houses, handcuffing people and taking them away in police vehicles. The Anadolu news agency reported that the authorities were searching for 13 more people. Israel did not initially comment on the events.
The Gaza war has drastically worsened relations between Turkey and Israel after a brief period of détente between the two countries. However, following the major attack on Israel by the radical Islamic group Hamas and the subsequent Israeli counter-offensive in the Gaza Strip, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took to harsh criticism: Erdogan described Israel as a "terrorist state" and "war criminal" and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the "butcher of Gaza", comparing him to Adolf Hitler. Erdogan, on the other hand, called Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian "liberation group".
The Turkish president also withdrew Ankara's ambassador from Tel Aviv and called for a trial against the Israeli leadership at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. On New Year's Day, tens of thousands of people protested in Istanbul against Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip and the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
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In response to Turkey's warnings, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intensified his criticism of Israel, calling it a "terrorist state" during the Israel-Hamas conflict. Meanwhile, Turkish authorities have arrested 33 individuals suspected of spying for Israel's intelligence service Mossad, also seizing an unregistered firearm in their search operations.
Source: www.ntv.de
