Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Turkey warns of ‘serious consequences’ if Israel targets Hamas members on its soil

Ankara has warned Israel that it will face “serious consequences” if it tries to assassinate Hamas members on Turkish soil, reports said Monday, a day after recordings were revealed of the head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency saying Jerusalem is determined to kill leaders of the Palestinian terror group “in every location” around the world.

“In Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in Turkey, in Qatar, everyone,” Ronen Bar said in recordings aired by Kan news Sunday evening. “It will take a few years, but we will be there in order to do it.

“The cabinet set a goal for us, to take out Hamas. And we are determined to do it, this is our Munich,” Bar could be heard saying, referring to the years-long Israeli effort to assassinate Palestinian terrorists responsible for the 1972 Munich Olympics attack, in which 11 Israeli athletes were murdered.

On Monday, the Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed Turkish intelligence official as saying: “Necessary warnings were made to the interlocutors based on the news of Israeli officials’ statements, and it was expressed to Israel that [such an act] would have serious consequences.”

Turkey’s Anadolu news agency similarly quoted local sources warning the Jewish state against “engaging in illegal activities” in the country. READ MORE