TurkishJournal – Enes Kılıç – The arrests come days after the release of recordings of Ronen Bar, the director of Israel’s Shin Bet. In the recordings, which were published by Israeli media last week, Bar said, “The war cabinet has given us the task of destroying Hamas. And we are determined to do so. In Gaza, the West Bank, Turkey, and Qatar.”
In the wake of the reports, security sources in Ankara said that such actions would have “serious consequences.”
In an operation started in and spread from Istanbul, 34 people were arrested on suspicion of espionage, surveillance, attacks, and kidnappings. They are alleged to be linked to Mossad.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign Ministry did not comment on the arrests.
Experts say that the turning point in the struggle between the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and Mossad was in 2010, when the MIT ended the HUMINT protocol and Mossad closed its liaison office in Ankara. They say that the rivalry is likely to continue.
