A Turkish court has arrested seven out of 44 people who were detained on suspicion of spying on Palestinians in Turkey for Israeli intelligence service Mossad, the pro-government Sabah daily reported.
The suspects, employees of a consulting company operating out of İstanbul, were detained this week as part of an investigation conducted by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office. Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and the İstanbul Police Department were also involved in the operation.
They were allegedly monitoring Palestinian citizens, institutions and nongovernmental organizations in Turkey, Sabah said, and were allegedly helping Mossad smear and threaten Palestinians through their work.
The questioning of the other detainees is continuing at the counterterrorism unit of the İstanbul police. Thirteen other suspects are at large.
In October 2021 Turkey arrested a spy network of 15 people who allegedly worked for Mossad, again according to a report by Sabah.
According to Sabah, the group collected information about Turkish and foreign students and Palestinians living in the country.
The group operated in five cells of three members each. They were detained in a counterterrorism operation in four provinces. Israel has not responded to the allegations.