Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 3, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

i24 News – A court in Istanbul has ordered 15 of 34 people detained on suspicion of spying for Israel be held in prison awaiting trial, Turkey’s justice minister said late Friday.

The suspects were arrested earlier on Tuesday for allegedly planning to carry out activities that included “reconnaissance” and “pursuing, assaulting and kidnapping” foreign nationals living in Turkey.

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said that 26 suspects were referred to the court on a charge of committing “political or military espionage” on behalf of Israeli intelligence. Eleven were released under judicial control conditions and eight were awaiting deportation.

Israel’s foreign intelligence agency Mossad is claimed to have recruited Palestinians and Syrian nationals inside Turkey as part of the operation against foreigners living in Turkey, state-run Anadolu news agency stated.

The agency cited a prosecution document saying the operation targeted “Palestinian nationals and their families within the scope of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

“In line with our earlier warning that any attempt to operate illegally in Turkey would have grave consequences, we strongly discourage all relevant parties from engaging in similar activities in the future,” a senior Turkish official told i24NEWS. “We are determined to ensure that absolutely no foreign intelligence agency can operate on Turkish soil without proper authorization,” the senior intelligence officer commented.