Turkish authorities have detained 33 of the 46 people they accuse of spying for the Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, and operations to detain the remaining 13 are continuing, local press reported yesterday. According to the Anadolu news agency, the operation was ordered by the anti-terrorism office of the Istanbul Prosecutor General’s Office and the arrests were carried out simultaneously by security forces in 57 locations in eight provinces of the country.
Prosecutors from the anti-terrorism office stated that they had reached the conclusion, in an ongoing investigation, that Mossad intended to carry out reconnaissance, surveillance, assault and kidnapping activities once morest “foreign citizens residing in Turkey”, according to Anadolu.
The Daily Sabah newspaper recalled, in this context, some alleged cases in which Israeli services attempted to abduct Palestinians living in Turkey with special authorizations granted for humanitarian reasons.
“Further details regarding the investigation are not available, but the Mossad has been involved in the past in investigations into attempted kidnappings of Palestinians living in Turkey,” the Turkish newspaper said.