Turkey arrests dozens suspected of spying for Israel
Al Jazeera
Ankara has previously warned that it will not allow Israel to strike at Hamas inside Turkey’s borders.
Turkey has reportedly detained 33 people suspected of spying on behalf of Israel.
The authorities are still searching for 13 other people believed to have links to Israel’s Mossad security service, the Anadolu Agency reported on Tuesday. Ankara has previously warned that it will not allow Israel to strike at Hamas inside 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 “pursuing, assaulting and kidnapping” foreign nationals living in Turkey, the agency reported.
“We will never allow espionage activities to be conducted against the national unity and solidarity of our country,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on social media.
Anadolu did not provide information on the suspects, nor the foreigners who were allegedly targeted. The report came weeks after the head of Israel’s domestic security agency, Shin Bet, said in an audio recording that his organisation is prepared to destroy Hamas “in every place,” including in Lebanon, Turkey and Qatar.
