Nadim Injaz, who demanded asylum from Turkey, was handed over to Israeli authorities after interrogation at the Turkish Embassy following the incident. The Jerusalem Post said Injaz, who claims to be a former informant of the Israeli security agency Shin Bet, was the subject of an undercover police operation in 2007, soon after he was released from prison for breaking into the British Embassy in Tel Aviv in 2006.
After being released from prison, Injaz insisted in an interview in October 2007 that he was an informant for Shin Bet and threatened to carry out attacks if he was not granted Israeli residency. Police watched that interview and became concerned that Injaz would carry out his threats, The Jerusalem Post said. He was then arrested after being lured by police to a phony meeting at a Tel Aviv hotel. He spent the next three years in jail and was released last month, weeks before the Turkish Embassy incident.
Israeli authorities deny Injaz is a Shin Bet informant and claim that he is seeking asylum in a foreign country or Israeli residency or citizenship. They claim that he professes to have worked for Shin Bet because one of the criteria for Palestinians to receive an Israeli ID card is to be a former informant.
Contrary to the Israeli claims, the Palestinian Authority said the incident was orchestrated by Shin Bet, aiming to harm Turkish-Palestinian friendship. “We are sure that relations between the Turkish and Palestinian nations are stronger and deeper than this absurd incident -- organized by Shin Bet,” a statement said on Tuesday.
