Turkish police apprehended 33 people accused of spying on behalf of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, and targeting foreigners living in the country, Turkey’s interior minister said Tuesday.
Last month, officials in Ankara warned Israel that it would face “serious consequences” if its agents attempted to assassinate Hamas officials on Turkish soil.
“We will never allow espionage activities against the national unity and solidarity of our country,” Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on social media.
The Turkish police raid, Operation Mole, was launched simultaneously in eight locations nationwide. The state prosecutor’s counterterrorism bureau and MIT, Turkey’s intelligence agency, supervised the raid.
Turkish authorities said they seized large amounts of foreign cash during the raid, including more than 143,000 Euros — worth $157,000 — along with $23,680 in U.S. currency. They also located an unlicensed firearm, cartridges and digital items.
“Our fight against organized crime organizations and spies that disturb the peace of our families will continue with determination,” Mr. Yerlikaya said on X.
Turkey, a NATO member, doesn’t consider Hamas a terrorist organization and has hosted leaders of the militant group.
The head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency said in a recording aired by Israeli TV last month that it had the green light to kill Hamas leaders wherever they could be found, including Turkey.
“It will take a few years, but we will be there in order to do it,” Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar said, according to The Times of Israel. “The Cabinet set a goal for us: to take out Hamas, and we are determined to do it.”
Mr. Bar compared it to the yearslong effort to assassinate Palestinian terrorists who killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches during the 1972 Munich Olympics.
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