Turkish authorities have uncovered that it was a former police officer who ran a network spying on seven Palestinian activists in Türkiye on behalf of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, according to a report in the Turkish newspaper Sabah.
Gönen Karakaya, along with his accomplice Ahmet Yurtseven and five others, were apprehended by Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in raids in Istanbul and Izmir last year.
The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Istanbul has concluded its investigation, and all seven suspects were arrested on charges of “illegally obtaining or spreading personal information,” “being a member of a criminal organization” and “obtaining secret state information for political or military espionage.”
All suspects are facing a total of up to 640 years in prison.
Karakaya first made contact with Mossad’s online operations center in 2019, which he maintained until his capture in February 2024, according to the indictment.
The ex-police officer conducted research, reconnaissance and surveillance of foreign nationals and companies under the instructions of Mossad operatives "Yuriy Kovalchuk," "Dimitri" and "Peter Petrenko."
Karakaya followed Palestinian individuals identified by their initials as A.I., A.A., K.S., M.S., M.B., M.A., M.J. and N.A., the indictment said.
Karakaya was also previously charged with leaking information to Iranian fugitive drug lord Naji Sharifi Zindashti and his criminal organization, Sabah wrote. He was accused of deleting the video footage of the murder of Arzu Zindashti and Ilhan Ünğan in the Zindashti case.
As the Palestinian-Israeli conflict rages on, Türkiye has uncovered several networks operated by Mossad in the country.
Mossad is known to hire locals to run surveillance on its targets in Türkiye, particularly Palestinians. Earlier operations and investigations have uncovered several people, including foreigners with residence permits, private investigators and former police officers spying on Mossad’s targets.
Dozens were detained or arrested on charges of having ties to Mossad and running espionage rings for Mossad operatives. Their primary targets have been Palestinians living in Türkiye or visiting the country, particularly those linked to Hamas.
Türkiye views Hamas as a resistance group, while Israel brands it as a terrorist group.
The war in Gaza led to a deterioration of ties between Türkiye and Israel, which were just about to normalize strained relations.
Türkiye fiercely defended the rights of Palestinians targeted by Israel in the Gaza Strip and often hosted prominent Hamas figures, including late leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in July 2024.
