ISTANBUL, December 5. /TASS/. Israeli intelligence saying it is ready to persecute and eliminate the leaders of the Palestinian radical group Hamas across the world is most likely part of a psychological campaign to rehabilitate Mossad’s image following its failure to prevent the October 7 attack, an expert thinks.
Turkish military expert Kemal Olcar, commenting on reports that Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) had warned its Israeli colleagues about the repercussions of potential operations against Hamas members on Turkish soil, said: "Mossad is well aware that Hamas' [military] leaders are in Gaza. They are engaged in combat there. There is nothing for them to do here [in Turkey]. Members of the Hamas political wing are also in Gaza, some of them are in Lebanon and Qatar." "It seems that the statements coming from Israel are part of a psychological campaign aimed at shaping public opinion and rehabilitating its seriously damaged reputation, especially by pointing to non-existent Hamas officials as targets," he told the A Haber TV channel.
In turn, foreign policy and security expert Omer Ozkizilcik urged Israel to take Turkish intelligence’s warnings seriously. "The MIT does not allow anyone to conduct intelligence operations against Israel on Turkish soil, much less let it organize such acts against other countries," he told the TRT Haber TV channel.
Turkey’s news outlets reported on Monday that the MIT had cautioned Israeli intelligence about the consequences of persecuting Hamas officials on Turkish soil. This occurred following reports claiming that Israel would persecute Hamas members residing outside of Palestine, including in Turkey and Qatar. Turkish security services noted that intelligence of various countries previously attempted to carry out such illegal actions in the country.
The Yeni Safak newspaper reiterated that in May, Turkish intelligence uncovered a Mossad spy network in Istanbul, detaining 11 people with seven more Israeli agents arrested a month later. One of Turkish intelligence's major successes against Mossad came a year ago in Malaysia when it rescued a Palestinian hacker who broke into Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.