Turkey seizes 33 people for allegedly spying for Israel’s Mossad

Turkish police detained 33 individuals based in Turkey for allegedly spying for Israel, Turkish public news agency Anadolu Agency (AA) reported on Tuesday.

Police detained the individuals in Istanbul and seven other provinces on charges of “carrying out international espionage activities” on behalf of the Israeli foreign intelligence service, Mossad, against foreign nationals residing in Turkey for humanitarian reasons.

The Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office alleges that the police investigation detected that the individuals aimed to carry out activities such as reconnaissance, pursuit, assault and kidnapping against foreign nationals residing in Turkey.

AA said that 13 suspects were still at large. Turkey has been systematically conducting similar police operations against individuals allegedly spying for Israel for the last couple of years.

In December, Turkish intelligence and police detained 44 suspects who are believed to have been working for Mossad to spy on Palestinians living in Turkey.

Turkish daily Sabah reported the suspects had been pretending to work as private consultants but their real mission was to monitor Palestinians and Palestinian-operated groups and NGOs.