Raise your glass (or coffee mug). This is a toast: 6.5 years after we launched, you are now reading Turkey recap issue #300, a number associated with historic stances against the odds …
And more recently with the unfortunate 2007 film ‘300’, which had no links to the ‘War on Terror’, just like this newsletter has no links to the war on Iran.
Thank you to all our readers and contributors over the years. This is a shared milestone, reached through a shared dedication to balanced, trustworthy news—and puns.
In this week’s recap:
198 IS suspects detained over Israeli Consulate gunfight
Ankara repositions itself amid regional turmoil
CHP faces one court battle after another
Domestic and diplomatic wraps
Police week brings flowers and fake fights
Also from us this week:
Howard Eissenstat details the Turkey-Israel rivalry in a changing region on Recap radio
Journalist Hilmi Hacaloğlu shares updates from the Istanbul Municipality trial on Stüdyo recap
Turkey’s recent experience with militant attacks is long, and another one got added to the list as regional turmoil appears to have played out in Istanbul once again this week.
Midday Tuesday, three armed militants in tactical gear attempted to attack a building housing the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul, resulting in a gun fight that left one attacker dead, the other two wounded and two police officers with minor injuries.
No motive has been publicized, and no Israeli staff were in the consulate, as they had been recalled in late 2023. Yet, initial reporting indicates the deceased attacker had Islamic State links.
Investigations ongoing: Turkish Justice Min. Akın Gürlek Wednesday announced a nationwide anti-IS operation, detaining 198 suspects in relation to the attack.
This comes as the two injured assailants remain in police custody, and new details emerge about the deceased attacker, who was identified as Yunus Emre Sarban.
Halk TV columnist Ismail Saymaz reported in detail about Sarban, who was charged with “IS membership” in 2019 on suspicion of preparing an attack, but was released after five months.
Sarban’s assets were later frozen in 2021 over links to IS financial networks and reactivated in August 2024 following his acquittal. The other two attackers were brothers and one had a criminal record for a drug offense, according to the interior minister.
Separately, Turkey’s personal care retail chain, Gratis, launched its own investigation and fired several employees for apparently ridiculing police responders during the attack and posting the video on social media. Eight Gratis staffers have been detained.
Responses: Like US envoy to Turkey Tom Barrack, Pres. Erdoğan quickly condemned the attack, adding: “We will not allow Turkey’s climate of security to be damaged by … provocations.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the event in a statement, while sharing appreciation for “Turkish security forces’ swift action in thwarting this attack.”
“The incident, coupled with Israel’s gratitude for the swift response of Turkish security forces, underscores a zero-tolerance policy regarding terrorist threats against Jewish or Israeli targets on Turkish soil,” Gallia Lindenstrauss, a senior research fellow at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), told Turkey recap.
She added, “The incident also highlights that limited tactical cooperation between Israel and Turkey is still possible, and that ISIS remains a threat to Turkey.”
Advantage point: Ankara repositions itself amid regional turmoil
