Ankara responded harshly to Israeli intelligence’s operation threat

Ankara responded harshly to alleged claims of Israeli domestic intelligence service Shin Bet’s chief Ronen Bar, who said in a record published by Israeli state television KAN that “they are determined to kill Hamas leaders all over the world, including Qatar, Türkiye and Lebanon.”

Turkish intelligence officials told Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency that the Israeli authorities have been informed that “illegal operations on Turkish territory would have serious consequences.”

“Turkish intelligence sources said the necessary warnings have been made to the interlocutors in response to reports in the international media that Israel will target Hamas members living outside Palestine, including Türkiye, and statements by Israeli officials to this effect, and that any contrary stance would have serious consequences,” report read by AA on December 4.

Officials told Anadolu Agency that various intelligence services have previously tried to carry out illegal activities in the territory of the Republic of Turkey, stressing that such operations by any service will not be tolerated.

Israeli intelligence chief: “We will do it in Lebanon, Türkiye, Qatar,”

Ronen Bar, the head of Israel’s internal security service Shin Bet, said in a statement broadcasted on Israel’s TRT, Kan, that they would go after Hamas leaders everywhere, naming Türkiye, Lebanon and Qatar.

“The cabinet has set us a goal: Eliminate Hamas leaders. This is our Munich. We will do it in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Türkiye, Qatar – everywhere,” he was heard saying, according to KAN broadcast.

This is a move that signals a serious escalation in Turkish-Israeli relations, which are already strained over Hamas.

Bar is saying that they will continue its war against Hamas on Turkish soil saying “Lebanon, Qatar and everywhere”, but it is important for us that he included Türkiye in his statement.

So what does “Our Munich” mean? What is between the lines of the message?

Erdoğan’s harsh response to Israel’s attacks on Gaza

Before decoding the message, it is worth recalling what President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said today.

In his speech to the Standing Committee on Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on December 4, Erdogan reiterated his statement about Netanyahu, calling him “the butcher of Gaza.”

He recalled Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, who died while on trial at the International Criminal Court for war crimes and attempted genocide against Bosniaks, including the Srebrenica massacre, likening him to Netanyahu.

“Netanyahu, beyond being a war criminal, will definitely be tried as the butcher of Gaza, just as Milosevic was tried,” Erdoğan said.

Afterwards, Turkish President also mentioned preparations for the reconstruction of Gaza, but he made another sentence that I find very important:

“Netanyahu personally revealed in front of the cameras that the issue is not Gaza or Ramallah, that he is pursuing expansionist goals. Therefore, today, defending Gaza and Palestine means defending Mecca, Medina, Istanbul along with Jerusalem, defending Damascus, Beirut, Baghdad and other Islamic cities […] As the Islamic world, we all owe it to Israel not to leave a single inch of land in Gaza to the occupying Israel.”

We know how united Islamic countries are, but Erdogan says “we need to deal with this together”.

Escalating tension

The statements of Bar, the head of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic intelligence service, can be described as the last link in the escalating tension between Israel and Türkiye over Hamas in recent days.

Days after Erdoğan’s remarks about Netanyahu and his increasingly harsh statements, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen made a remarkable post on his social media account.

In his message, Cohen directly addressed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by tagging the English account of the Turkish Presidency.

“The Hamas-ISIS terrorist organization will not exist in Gaza on the day after. We will free Gaza from Hamas, for the sake of Israel’s security and to create a better future for the residents of the region. You (@trpresidency) are welcome to host in your country Hamas terrorists who aren’t eliminated and flee from Gaza,” the post read.

Immediately after the social media post, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli issued a message in response to Cohen, saying, “The brutal attacks of an occupying power against the civilian population cannot be accepted as self-defense in any way,” You can read the full message here.

Two days after the exchange of statements, the head of Shin Bet, Bar said, “We have set a target, we will eliminate them one by one, whether they are in Türkiye or wherever they are.”

Israel has reached a position of almost threatening Türkiye by saying that they can come into Turkish soil and operate here as if there is no security system or intelligence units in the country.

Munich 1972

Let’s talk about what is meant by Munich.

In 1972, during the Olympic Games in Munich on September 4-5, Black September, a Palestinian armed organization, raided the Olympic Village and killed 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team. Then, over the years, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, the Mossad, killed all the militants who participated in the Munich Olympic Village raid on behalf of the Black September organization, one by one. (The exception is Haruryun Toikashyan, aka Agop Agopian, an international terrorist activist who participated in the Munich Massacre as a Black September militant and later took part in the establishment of ASALA. Despite the claims that Agop Agopian was killed by MIT and MOSSAD, it is more likely that he was killed in a leadership dispute within ASALA).

In his message, Bar refers to “our Munich”, referring to the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants that killed 1200 people, mostly women and children. Any state would have reacted to this, but Israel’s action has gone far beyond the limits of self-defense and missile defense: 16,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in a massacre amounting to attempted genocide.

The massacre in Gaza must stop immediately. Especially the United States and the European Union are shedding crocodile tears, saying, “Shoot but spare the civilians.” Netanyahu’s intention to drive the Palestinians out of Gaza completely and to “dehumanize there” is a fact. This should not be left as a bystander.

We will wait and see how far the Hamas tension between Türkiye and Israel will escalate.