Turkey arrests 33 accused of spying for Israel

ANKARA, Turkey

Turkish Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, on Tuesday said that 33 people have been arrested for spying for Israil in a major operation. “We will never allow espionage activities against the national unity and solidarity of our country,” Yerlikaya said.

The operation was jointly run by the Turkish Police and National Intelligence Agency, MIT, in eight provinces.

Yerlikaya said the operation was conducted “after it was determined that the Israeli intelligence service [Mossad] aimed to carry out tactical activities such as reconnaissance, pursuit, assault and kidnapping against foreign nationals residing in our country”.

During the operation, 143,830 euros and 23,680 US dollars in cash were seized in addition to weapons, bullets and digital materials.

Israel’s military operation in Gaza against Hamas, which has reportedly killed over 22,000 people, remains a major domestic issue in Turkey.

A court on January 1 arrested university student Ege Akersoy for punching a man who carried a “Tajweed” flag associated with jihadists who was returning from a Free Palestine march in Istanbul organised by the pro-government Turkish Youth Foundation, TUGVA – an Islamist NGO run by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s family.

The flag is used by Islamist jihadists as well as those who call for the restoration of a caliphate – an Islamic polity ruled by a caliph.

Akersoy was arrested for punching the man but others who attacked the student in front of police walked free.

At another event, Islamist groups called for the restoration of a caliphate, claiming that “the salvation of the Palestine can only be with the Caliphate,”. The caliphate has became a major topic in social media, further polarising Turkish society.

The Istanbul Bar Association called on the authorities on Tuesday to start legal proceedings against those who call for the restoration of the caliphate. “None of the rights and freedoms included in the Constitution can be used in activities aimed at eliminating the democratic and secular republic,” the Association said in a statement.

The last Caliph was Abdulmecid Efendi, a prince of the Ottoman dynasty. The Caliphate was abolished in 1924 after Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded Turkey’s modern secular republic.

Turkey has accused Israel of genocide against Palestines since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and since Israeli striikes killed thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. While many Western countries designate Hamas a terrorist organisation, President Erdogan has defined it as a group of “freedom fighters”.

According to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in Gaza on Tuesday, at least 22,185 Palestinians including women and children have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. The death toll on the Israeli side stood at 1,400.