After months of preparations, a large-scale intelligence operation was conducted across eight provinces in the first hours of the second day of the New Year. This operation, conducted in sync with police and the judicial authorities, was not the first move against a network of spies linked with Israel's Mossad. In fact, the latest move was the continuation of a series of operations dating back to 2021. Since then, a large number of individuals with links to Israel's top spy agency have been arrested and their network, which is trying to conduct provocative spy activities in Türkiye, has been dented.
Daily Sabah shared detailed reports of the last operation on Tuesday. Conducting operations in other countries is part of the nature of spy work. However, as part of the nature of the job, it also is to inform and respect the domestic intelligence authorities. Lately, not only has the Israeli spy agency failed to follow these traditions, but it has been intensely at work to carry out activities against Türkiye within Turkish borders.
Despite the rapprochement diplomacy before the Oct. 7 incidents and the following massacre of Palestinians in Gaza, Turkish and Israeli ties have been on shaky grounds since Israel's attacks on the Mavi Marmara Flottila on May 2010 and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's "One Minute" move in Davos in January 2009. In addition, Türkiye's firm stance in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle and standing against Israel's crimes in the occupied territories have made it difficult to find a common ground for restoring ties between Ankara and Tel Aviv. Still, the attempts to repair ties with Tel Aviv came as part of a wave of normalization efforts in the region, in which Ankara has effectively been playing a key role as it normalized its ties with influential countries in the region, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Armenia. Though the talks with Syria have stalled, there are also efforts to normalize ties with Greece as part of the new and multidimensional foreign policy formation.
Normalization cannot take place when there is no compromise and the normalization does not yield mutual benefits. In addition, their regional implications should also be well calculated. What kind of normalization can take place with Syria when the regime turns a blind eye to terror activities within its borders and expects Turkish authorities to remain idle against threats to its sovereignty? Similarly, how can a normalization survive between Ankara and Tel Aviv when the latter carries out crimes at all levels against the Palestinians in Gaza and all other parts of occupied territories, let alone Mossad's spy activities within Türkiye?
It is no longer a secret that Turkish intelligence's strength and capability have significantly improved in recent years. The National Intelligence Agency's (MIT) operational activity both domestically and abroad has yielded significant results in the country's fight against terrorist activities of the PKK and Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ), drug lords and gangs, and other criminal activities. In addition, successful operations have been able to bust and limit foreign spy activities within the country. And it should come as no surprise that these operations will continue determinedly. However, these operations should not be seen as mere counterespionage activities by Ankara and should be considered part of the principled "One Minute" move.
The "One Minute" stance and attitude against Israeli crimes is a foundational one. It is not mere political rhetoric. Instead, it stands on a larger scale against global injustices and systemic errors at a larger scale. It is an attitude that raises voices against the dysfunctionalities of the institutions of global governance and calls for reform through "The world is bigger than five" motto.
The "One Minute" against the spy activities should be read through an approach that seeks an international system that favors the just and fair, not one that serves the interests of the powerful at the expense of others.
Thousands of people gathered in Istanbul on the first day of the New Year to honor the fallen Turkish soldiers in the fight against terrorism and the Palestinians in Gaza under incessant attacks from Israel. A loud voice was raised, "for a fair future." And that fair future is possible if the international community can unite against injustices through international institutions that would protect and support the "right" and not just the "powerful."
