Antalya ends sister city ties with Israeli 'Bat Yam' over war on Gaza
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Antalya Mayor Muhittin Bocek affirms that the annulment of the 1997 friendship protocol is due to "Israel's" perceived brutality toward the Palestinians.
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A general view of the Kaleici marina in Antalya, southern Turkey, March 12, 2022 (AFP)
Antalya Mayor Muhittin Bocek announced the unilateral termination of the sister city protocol between Antalya and "Bat Yam", citing Israeli brutality in the Gaza Strip as the reason for the decision.
"At the City Council meeting on Monday, we unanimously decided to annul the 1997 protocol of friendship between Antalya and the Israeli city of Bat Yam due to Israel’s brutality towards the Palestinians," Bocek said in a post on X.
It is worth noting that the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza reported on Monday that 31,112 Palestinians were killed and 72,760 were wounded amid the Israeli genocide in the besieged enclave.
Israeli media reported, on Monday, that Israeli Police Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rejected a request from Turkey for information about two Turkish citizens imprisoned in "Israel".
Ben-Gvir responded to the Turkish request, according to Israeli media, saying, "If Turkey wants information or visits for the detainees, let them pressure Hamas to allow us to meet the captives."
The extremist Israeli Minister has previously strongly criticized relations with Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. On January 15, he said, “Turkey acts toward Israeli players, and toward anything with a scent of Israeliness, with Nazism.”
“Erdogan is a full-on Nazi,” he added.
He also called for a boycott of Turkish products and urged Israeli settlers not to travel to Turkey for any reason.
This comes shortly after Turkish authorities arrested seven individuals, including a former public servant working as a private detective, over suspicions of providing information to the Israeli Mossad intelligence service.
The detained detective is believed to have gathered intelligence on Middle Eastern entities in Turkey, employing tactics, such as placing tracking devices and conducting surveillance, according to the MIT intelligence agency.
A video released by the Interior Ministry depicted police conducting raids on residences in Istanbul, confiscating firearms, bags of narcotics, and electronic devices.
"We will never allow espionage activities to be carried out within the borders of our country. We will catch them one by one and bring them to justice," Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a post on X.
The Turkish detective underwent training by Mossad in Belgrade, Serbia, and received payments in cryptocurrency, which were not recorded in official documents, as per MIT.
Dive deeper
Following the launch of the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, "Tel Aviv" declared that all leaders of the Hamas Resistance movements across the world have become assassination targets, including those residing in Turkey, Lebanon, and Qatar.
Responding to the public threats, Ankara warned the occupation entity of "serious consequences" if it attempts to target the Hamas officials.
In February, seven people suspected of spying for the Israeli Mossad were arrested by Turkish security on Friday, the state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.
In January, the Turkish police forces arrested 34 people on suspicion of spying for "Israel," who were later also accused of planning and “pursuing, assaulting and kidnapping” foreign citizens living in the country, including members of the Palestinian Resistance.
At the time, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said most of the detained elements were charged with committing “political or military espionage” on behalf of the Mossad.
Read more: All ties with 'Israel' must be severed: Raisi from Ankara
