The father of an Israeli Arab businessman who was killed in an attack in İstanbul on Sunday has denied any political motivation behind the murder of his son, contradicting reports in the Turkish media about Israel’s alleged involvement, the private DHA news agency reported.
The 30-year-old businessman, identified as Abdülkadir Anas, was killed when masked assailants opened fire on a parked car, leaving two others injured, in the Kağıthane district of İstanbul late Sunday.
The slain businessman was sitting in the driver’s seat when the attack took place.
Two other people who were in the car were also injured. Turkish media outlets initially reported that all three men were Palestinians.
However, Anas’s father told DHA his family is of Palestinian origin but that they are Israeli citizens. DHA did not publish his name.
“This was never a politically motivated incident. We are a family far from politics. We are Israeli Arabs of Palestinian origin. We visit Turkey frequently. We don’t yet know the motive for the attack,” the father said.
The İstanbul Governor’s Office said the assailants left a handgun fitted with a silencer behind when they fled the scene.
Sunday’s attack had led to claims about the possible involvement of Israeli intelligence agency Mossad given the fact that scores of people are suspected of spying on Palestinians in Turkey for Mossad.
The father also said neither his son nor his family has received any threats while in Turkey, calling on the Turkish authorities to capture the assailants as soon as possible.
The İstanbul Governor’s Office later said the attack was motivated by a dispute over money and that three suspects thought to have been directly involved had fled the country, crossing the Bulgarian border within two-and-a-half hours of the shooting.
Anonymous Palestinian sources who spoke to the Gazete Duvar news website confirmed Anas’s father’s claims, saying the slain businessman had nothing to do with politics, that he was a real estate broker and had ties to mafia groups. They claimed Anas was extorting money from businessmen.
They also claimed that Anas and his family had avoided an attack in Israel six months ago, which was covered in the Israeli media.
Palestinian businessman Fadi M. was seriously injured in the attack, while Anas’s bodyguard, Eray K., sustained injuries to his feet.
Tensions between Turkey and Israel have been running high due to the ongoing conflict in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
Israel has vowed to target overseas members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which carried out an unprecedented attack in Israel on October 7.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been vocal in his condemnation of Israeli actions and policies and has warned of severe repercussions if Israel targets Hamas members in Turkey.
Israel began pounding Gaza after Hamas militants carried out the unprecedented surprise attack in Israel on October 7 that claimed some 1,200 lives.
Israeli air and ground attacks in Gaza have resulted in at least 40,000 deaths since October 7 according to the local health ministry in addition to causing massive destruction in the enclave.