ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A Turkish court decided on Friday to formally arrest 15 people and deport eight others suspected of being linked to Israel’s Mossad intelligence service and of targeting Palestinians living in Turkey, according to state broadcaster TRT Haber.
Turkish authorities detained 34 people earlier this week after warning Israel of “serious consequences” if it tried to hunt down members of the militant group Hamas living outside Palestinian territories, including in Turkey.
TRT Haber’s story provided no details about what the court decided for the remaining 11 people who were initially detained.
Turkey, unlike most of its Western allies and some Arab nations, does not classify Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
Police raided locations in eight provinces to capture the suspects as part of the investigation carried out by the MIT intelligence agency and the Istanbul prosecutor’s counter-terrorism bureau.
Turkey has harshly criticised Israel for its bombardment of Gaza in its war with Hamas, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly exchanging barbs last week.
(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Comments