Turkish authorities have arrested 33 people suspected of carrying out “international espionage” for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Tuesday.
Police carried out a large operation across eight provinces near Istanbul, as part of an investigation by the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office and Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT).
Yerlikaya said Israeli intelligence was attempting to organize attacks against foreign nationals residing in Turkey, including identifying, tracking and kidnapping them.
“We will never allow espionage activities against the national unity and solidarity of our country,” Yerlikaya said.
Turkish state media Anadolu Agency reported that police were still looking for 13 suspects.
Relations between Turkey and Israel have soured amid the Israel-Hamas war, in which approximately 22,000 people in Gaza have been killed, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly condemned Israel’s airstrikes and ground operation and recalled Turkey’s ambassador to Israel, citing the “humanitarian tragedy” in Gaza and “Israel’s refusal of calls for ceasefire.”
