Jerusalem, April 7 – Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on Tuesday, while vowing that "terrorism will not deter us."
The statement came after a gunfight erupted between three attackers and police personnel deployed outside the building housing the closed Israeli Consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday. All three attackers were killed in the incident outside the consulate building in the Besiktas district, local media reported.
"We strongly condemn the terrorist attack on the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul today. We appreciate the swift action of the Turkish security forces in thwarting this attack. Israeli missions around the world have been subjected to countless threats and terrorist attacks. Terrorism will not deter us," the MFA posted on X.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into the incident, according to Daily Sabah, the country's leading media outlet, citing a statement from Turkey's Justice Minister Akin Gurlek.
"Following reports of gunfire sounds in the vicinity of the Israeli Consulate located in the Besiktas district of Istanbul, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office immediately initiated an investigation. Within the scope of the investigation, one deputy chief public prosecutor and two public prosecutors have been assigned; our public prosecutors have promptly arrived at the scene and begun examinations," Gurlek wrote on X.
"Under the coordination of our Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, in collaboration with relevant law enforcement units, the work is ongoing for the purpose of fully elucidating the incident, and the investigation is being conducted meticulously and in a multifaceted manner," he added.
Istanbul Governor Davut Gul said that the Consulate building has not been actively used for diplomatic purposes for approximately 2.5 years. He mentioned that two police personnel also suffered minor injuries in the exchange of fire.
Turkey's Minister of Interior Mustafa Ciftci later said that the three attackers who were involved in the armed clash with Turkish police personnel have been neutralized and also identified.
"Three individuals who engaged in an armed clash with our police officers on duty in front of the Yapi Kredi Plaza Blocks in Istanbul have been neutralized. In the clash, two of our heroic police officers sustained minor injuries. The identities of the terrorists have been identified. It has been determined that the individuals, who arrived in Istanbul by a rental vehicle from Izmit, include one with ties to an organisation that exploits religion; and it has also been established that one of the two terrorists, who are brothers, has a drug record," Mustafa Ciftci posted on X.
Preliminary assessments have indicated that no diplomatic personnel were present at the site of the incident, Daily Sabah reported.