Israeli assisting Israelis in city for medical treatments says instructs clients to avoid some areas, claims increased Turkish security adds to safety; former military intelligence chief says credible threat of imminent attack
Yoav Zitun
https://www.ynetnews.com-Israeli tourists in Istanbul
Despite urgent warnings and calls to leave Istanbul at once, Israelis who are residing in the Turkish city and those visiting, are unperturbed.
“The increased Turkish security around Jewish sites and tourist hot spots, provides us with some sense of security,” Lior Rot told Ynet.
Rot heads a company assisting Israelis in medical treatment in Turkey.
“My family and friends tell me to be careful and I am trying to be,” he said. “I’ve instructed our clients to avoid dangerous or unfamiliar areas and keep a low profile,” he said.
An estimated 4,000 Israelis are set to travel to Turkey on Tuesday after some 15,000 left on Monday to Istanbul and other vacation destinations around the country.
Some said Istanbul is an inexpensive and convenient holiday destination and much needed after over two years of pandemic.
Former military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said in an interview to Ynet that Iran is adamant to exact revenge for attacks carried out on its soil and attributed to Israel.
The Iranian opposition site Iran International, based in the UK and financed by Saudi Arabia, claimed on Tuesday that the latest scientists who’s death was revealed in recent days, did not die in traffic accidents as Iranian authorities claimed.
Ali Kamani an officer in the Revolutionary Guard Corps air wing and scientist Mohammad Abdous, were both involved in the development of weapons systems for the Lebanon based Hezbollah terror group, the news site said.
On Monday, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called on Israelis to avoid unnecessary travel to Turkey and called on those in Istanbul to return to Israel as soon as possible.
Soon after his statement, the national security council raised the threat level for Istanbul to the highest possible, with imminent risks to Israelis identified.
Last week Israeli and Turkish intelligence forces foiled a plot by Iran to attack Israelis in Istanbul, including abducting or murdering them
According to reports, one terror squad behind the plot was apprehended but another, remained at large.