Türkiye’s communications director hails Turkish counter-intelligence operations

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) – Türkiye’s Communications Director Fahrettin Altun on Tuesday shared recent remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding operations of the country’s National Intelligence Service (MIT) and police against Israeli intelligence activities.

"Those who embark on such an endeavor should not forget that the consequences can be extremely serious. No one is unaware of the progress Türkiye has made in both intelligence and security fields worldwide,” Erdogan said on Dec. 6, referring to a report by The Wall Street Journal which claimed that “Israel has assassination plans for Hamas members living outside of Palestine, including in Türkiye."

Altun further cited Erdogan’s remarks, in which he said: "It seems they do not know Türkiye. They do not know the Turkish people. They do not know us. If they dare to make such a mistake, they should know that they will pay a very heavy price, a price they cannot recover from.”

Previously, Erdogan warned Tel Aviv of a "heavy price" amid reports of an Israeli plot to assassinate members of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas living outside Palestine.

Turkish authorities have detained 33 people on suspicion of engaging in espionage activities on behalf of Israel's foreign intelligence service Mossad, security sources said Tuesday.

Police officers raided 57 locations in eight provinces, including Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, as part of the investigation, which targeted suspects believed to be aiming to identify, monitor, assault and kidnap foreign nationals living in Türkiye.