Turkey’s intelligence service announced the arrest of an alleged Israeli spy in Istanbul during a joint operation, state media reported on Friday.
“Serkan Cicek, who was identified as working for the Israeli secret service Mossad, was detained as a result of a joint operation carried out by the MIT [Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization], the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Istanbul Provincial Police Department’s Counter-Terrorism Branch,” Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency reported on Friday.
Cicek, a detective, had reportedly worked with Musa Kus and lawyer Tugrulhan Dip in the past, both “arrested for spying for Israel” and accused of providing personal data from public records to detectives “in exchange for financial gain,” Anadolu added.
The report further claimed that Cicek had been in contact with a member of Israel’s Online Operations Center named Faysal Rasheed, and had admitted to allegedly conducting surveillance on a Palestinian activist.
The statement accused Cicek of being contacted on July 31 by Rasheed, who reportedly was posing as a member of a foreign law firm. Rasheed then allegedly hired Cicek to surveil a Palestinian activist in Basaksehir, paying $4,000 in cryptocurrency; an offer which Cicek accepted “despite knowing his associate Kus had been jailed for spying for Israel.”
Turkey frequently arrests individuals on charges of espionage, particularly those involving foreign intelligence agencies such as Israel’s Mossad. Authorities have detained dozens of suspects over the past year.
Relations between Turkey and Israel have soured in recent years in light of Ankara’s condemnation of Israel’s extensive military campaign in the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ October 7, 2023 incursion.
In November 2024, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan announced that Turkey has cut all ties with Israel.
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