Suspects detained in raids for allegedly planning to pursue, assault and kidnap foreign nationals living in Turkey.
Turkey has reportedly detained 33 people suspected of spying on behalf of Israel.
Authorities are still searching for 13 other people believed to have ties to Israel’s Mossad security service, Anadolu Agency reported Tuesday. Ankara previously warned that it will not allow Israel to attack Hamas within Turkey’s borders.
The suspects were detained in raids in Istanbul and seven other provinces for allegedly planning to carry out activities that included “reconnaissance” and “chasing, attacking and kidnapping” foreign nationals living in Turkey, the agency reported.
“We will never allow espionage activities to be carried out against the national unity and solidarity of our country,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on social media.
Anadolu did not provide information about the suspects or the foreigners allegedly attacked. The report came weeks after the head of Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, said in an audio recording that his organization is prepared to destroy Hamas “in all places,” including Lebanon, Turkey and Qatar.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Israel of “serious consequences” if it followed through with its threat to attack Hamas officials on Turkish soil.
After years of tension, Turkey and Israel moved towards normalizing their ties in 2022, when they resumed diplomatic relations. But that detente quickly deteriorated during the war between Israel and Hamas, and Ankara became one of the strongest critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Israel initially withdrew its diplomats from Turkey for security reasons and then announced it was withdrawing them for political reasons, citing “increasingly harsh statements” from Turkish officials. Türkiye also recalled its ambassador from Israel.
Erdogan’s reaction to the war between Israel and Hamas was initially rather muted. But the Turkish leader has since intensified his criticism of Israel, describing its actions in Gaza as verging on “genocide.”
He has called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be prosecuted for “war crimes” and compared him to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
The Turkish leader, whose government has hosted several Hamas officials in the past, has also said that the Palestinian group – considered a “terrorist organization” by Israel, the United States and the European Union – is fighting for the liberation of its lands and His town. .
The arrests came amid a series of arrests by Turkish security forces. About two weeks before the new year, some 500 people suspected of having links to the armed group ISIL (ISIS) were detained in raids across the country.
The arrests were thought to be part of a campaign by Turkish security forces ahead of the New Year festivities. An ISIL attack in Istanbul on January 1, 2017 killed 39 people.
At the same time, some have also seen the increase in arrests as part of a political push ahead of local elections in March.
Analysts say President Erdogan is eager to regain control of Istanbul, Ankara and other major economic centers that his AK Party has lost.
