Seven new people suspected of spying for Israel have been arrested in Turkey two months after a major raid, Turkey's official Anadolu news agency said on Tuesday.
The suspects, including a private detective and civil servants, are accused of passing on information about “Middle Eastern citizens and companies” based in Turkey for payment, Anadolu said, citing security sources.
At the beginning of January, 34 people were arrested across Turkey who were particularly suspected of helping the Israeli secret services prepare kidnappings on Turkish soil.
The Istanbul public prosecutor's office said it was still looking for 12 other suspects accused of the same crimes.
A security source told AFP that the suspects, most of them foreign nationals, were recruited as part of “operations against Palestinians and their families.”
“This is just the beginning…You will get to know Turkey well,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Israel a few days later.
Since the conflict between Israel and Hamas began in early October, the Turkish president, a traditional ally of the Palestinian cause, has stepped up his invective against Israel.
Mr. Erdogan, who ushered in a new era in relations with Israel in 2022 after a decade of estrangement, notably believed that there was “no difference” between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Adolf Hitler.