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Shady Palestinian figure Dahlan linked to Mossad spies: Report

A wanted terrorist living in exile has been linked to Israel’s Mossad spy network that targeted foreign nationals living in Türkiye, according to the Turkish newspaper Sabah.

Businessperson Mohammed Yusuf Dahlan, who has been on Türkiye’s most wanted terrorist list since 2019, was in close contact with some of the Mossad suspects captured in Türkiye earlier this week.

In a joint operation, Turkish police and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) on Tuesday detained 34 people in eight provinces as part of the latest investigation into the Israeli intelligence agency’s alleged plot targeting foreigners in the country.

The investigation found that a vast spy ring was behind Mossad activities targeting Palestinians and activists of Israeli origin residing in Türkiye.

The group, which contacted Mossad operatives via social media, would conduct reconnaissance, assaults and attempt abductions for Israeli intelligence.

According to Sabah, Dahlan, code-named “Abu Fadi” and currently living in exile in Serbia, was among those the suspects were in touch with via social media.

Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç on Thursday revealed authorities also discovered more than 143,000 euros ($157,300) and over $23,000 in the possession of suspects, along with one pistol and a large amount of munitions.

He said that authorities are still searching for 12 others at large, noting that over 100 people have been investigated so far.

Currently, 46 people are subject to legal proceedings, 25 suspects remain in custody, and all are still being interrogated.

No further details were available regarding the investigation except that the spy ring consisted mostly of Arab nationals and was being managed by a special Mossad unit based in Tel Aviv dedicated to surveilling the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Middle East’s ‘Hitman

Dahlan himself is wanted by Türkiye for his links to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and his role in FETÖ’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt, which led to the deaths of 251 people.

He was also probed for alleged connections to the UAE spy network in Türkiye and attempting to destabilize the country in cooperation with Israel.

The former security chief for the Palestinian Authority (PA), known as the “hitman” of the Middle East, Dahlan was the main mediator between the UAE government and an assassination squad in Yemen.

He was expelled from Fatah in 2011 over claims that he poisoned then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. A year later, a nine-month investigation revealed that traces of radioactive polonium poison were found on the deceased Arafat’s belongings.

Dahlan owns media outlets in the UAE, Egypt and Jordan. He is also accused of being behind the 2013 coup in Egypt, which toppled the country’s first democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi.

Mossad in Türkiye

Mossad was implicated in the past in investigations about attempts to kidnap Palestinians living in Türkiye.

Minister Tunç on Thursday also said there were four separate cases underway regarding Israel’s espionage activities and referred to another investigation dating back to 2021, which ended with legal proceedings for 27 suspects.

Türkiye exposed two other groups spying on Palestinians for Mossad in recent years, arresting 19 suspects in a December 2022 operation and four others in an April 2023 proceeding.

Turkish intelligence sources told Anadolu Agency (AA) last month that Israeli intelligence was given a warning against any attempt to assassinate members of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in Türkiye.

“Israel will hunt down Hamas in Lebanon, Türkiye and Qatar even if it takes years,” the head of Israel’s domestic security agency Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, said in a recording aired by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan.

Turkish intelligence sources said such an action on Turkish soil would have serious consequences.

The warning followed an earlier 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.

Türkiye, even at times of potential rapprochement with Israel after the two countries’ relations deteriorated over Türkiye’s support for the Palestinian cause, was uncompromising on Israeli intelligence’s operations in its territories.

Apart from dismantling the secret cells of Mossad, Türkiye most recently saved a Palestinian hacker from his abductees, according to reports in the Turkish media.

According to sources, the Israeli intelligence service Mossad resorted to using dubious-looking job ads to recruit “short-term staff” before Tuesday’s operation netted them. The candidates, which included foreigners in the country, were then employed to run reconnaissance work on Palestinians and their families in Türkiye.

The sources said that the Israeli intelligence was involved in a wide range of operations in Türkiye, from collecting data, photo and video surveillance of their targets, and tracking their marks with GPS devices planted on vehicles of targets.

They are also accused of being involved in assault, arson, blackmail, running websites and disseminating false news to achieve their goals of disinformation.

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