Thirty-four people suspected of spy for Israel were arrested in Türkiye, Turkish authorities announced.
The Istanbul prosecutor’s office said that other 12 suspects They were still wanted.
The suspectsdetained in various parts of the country, are accused of plan kidnappings and spy on behalf of the Israeli secret services, stated the official intelligence agency Anadolu news.
The arrests occur few weeks after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned of “serious consequences” if Israel attempted to attack figures from the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas living or working in Turkey.
“Thirty-three suspicious people were arrested during operation ‘Köstebek’ (‘Mole’, in Spanish), organized simultaneously in 8 provinces centered in Istanbul and aimed at detecting and deciphering international espionage activities,” wrote Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on his X account (formerly Twitter).
A security source said to the AFP that most of the detainees are foreignersrecruited by the Israeli intelligence services to carry out “operations against Palestinians and family members.”
“There is an insidious operation and sabotage attempts against Türkiye and its interests,” declared Erdogan after the announcement of the arrests.
Since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas In October, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogana traditional ally of the Palestinian cause, has increased its invectives against Israel.
ErdoganWhat opened a new era in relations with Israel in 2022 after a decade of estrangement, last week compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.
In mid OctoberIsrael asked its nationals and diplomats to leave the country as a security measure. The leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas have long found refuge in Istanbul, but the Turkish authorities asked them to leave Turkey after the attack carried out on October 7 from the Gaza Strip on Israeli soil.
Source: Ambito
