Photos of ‘arrested Mossad operatives’ published in Turkey

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The pro-government Turkish newspaper Sabah published on Monday what it said was the pictures and details of a spy network that operated on Israel’s behalf.

According to the report, all 15 members of the network are Arab.

On Friday, the newspaper reported that one of the members of the alleged network had met twice with Mossad operatives in Zurich, and that he had collected information on Palestinians residing in Turkey in exchange for thousands of euros.

On Monday, Sabah published 15 headshots and detailed the roles they allegedly held within the network, whose overall mission was collecting information on foreign students residing in Turkey, especially those who might potentially work in the defense industry.

Sabah identified the agent who operated the network by the initials A.Z. and said he had used six different identities. It also reported that one member of the network, a medical student in the Turkish city of Konya, identified as M.A.S, played a key role in connecting members of the network with their Israeli handlers.

According to the report, M.A.S admitted during his interrogation by Turkey’s security services that he had spied for the Mossad. A.Z., the report added, contacted him for the first time in December 2018 via Whatsapp. Later on, he asked him to collect information on Palestinian students residing in Turkey and the professional opportunities they might have in the country, according to the report.

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Sabah further said that M.A.S sent the information to the Mossad in exchange for a payment of hundreds of euros, which he received via the Western Union financial services company. Over the past three years, M.A.S has received thousands more euros and dollars, in this way, the report said. It also reported that M.A.S later granted A.Z.’s request to gather information on Palestinian NGOs in Turkey, too.