Kosovo National Arrested in Turkey Over Alleged Ties to Israeli Intelligence
A Kosovar national has been formally arrested in Turkey for alleged ties to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Tuesday.
The suspect, who was identified as Liridon Rexhepi, is accused of serving as a financial intermediary between Eastern Europe and Mossad agents based in Turkey.
According to security sources familiar with the matter, Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MIT) says that Rexhepi facilitated the transfer of funds to Israeli spies and human assets tasked with monitoring prominent Palestinian political figures and gathering information on activities in Syria.
MIT put Rexhepi under surveillance upon his arrival in Turkey on August 25 before being detained last Friday by Istanbul’s Counterterrorism Police, the sources claim.
Rexhepi, a citizen of the partially recognized breakaway Republic of Kosovo, is one of dozens of individuals arrested in Turkey since January as part of Ankara’s far-reaching counter-espionage probe into Mossad activities.
Kosovo’s justice minister, Albulena Haxhiu, confirmed that Turkish authorities had contacted her about the Rexhepi, but she declined to comment further.
Israel has not publicly acknowledged the arrests.
Turko-Israeli relations have declined rapidly since the war in Gaza began last October.
Longtime Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, leader of the country’s conservative, Islamist-friendly AKP party, has harshly criticized Israel’s military operations in Gaza, having applied to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at The Hague.
Despite Ankara’s ties to Hamas’s foreign leadership via the Muslim Brotherhood political movement, Erdogan’s hardline stance has often frustrated allies such as the United States, who believe Turkey could better leverage its influence with the Palestinian group to secure a deal.
