ANKARA
Turkish authorities Monday said that they informed Israeli intelligence about any attempt by Israel to assassinate members of Palestinian group Hamas living in Türkiye – as claimed by media outlets – would result in serious consequences.
The warning by Turkish officials, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, followed a Wall Street Journal story alleging that amid ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza, Israel also plans to assassinate Hamas members living outside Palestine, including in Türkiye, Lebanon, and Qatar.
Ronen Bar, head of the Israeli domestic intelligence agency Shin-Bet (Shabak), also said in a recording broadcast on Israeli state television KAN that Israel is “determined to kill Hamas leaders all over the world, including Qatar, Türkiye and Lebanon, even if it takes years.”
The necessary warnings against any such action were made to the Israeli officials concerned, said Turkish officials.
Speaking to Anadolu, the officials mentioned that various foreign intelligence services had previously tried to carry out illegal activities on Turkish territory, but without success, stressing that no foreign intelligence service would be allowed to carry out such operations on the soil of the Republic of Türkiye.
Turkish officials have condemned the brutality of Israel’s attacks on Gaza, taking nearly 16,000 lives, and stressed that Hamas – which Israel has said it aims to eradicate – is not a terrorist group.
