Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalın seeks to gradually restore relations with Israel, reports say

According to the Israeli daily Yedioth Aharonoth, MİT Director Ibrahim Kalın has played a significant role in the Gaza negotiations.

The newspaper’s report states that Kalın, “known for his ties with Israeli officials,” aims to rebuild relations and even bring Israeli tourists back to Türkiye.

Pointing out that the relationship between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kalın dates back to the years when Erdoğan sought to include “serious” academic figures in his inner circle, the newspaper, citing Israeli officials, claims that Erdoğan “trusts him completely” and that Israelis say Kalın is the “president’s shadow.”

The newspaper wrote, “When US President Donald Trump included Türkiye in the team negotiating the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal in Sharm el-Sheikh, Ankara sat at the table on equal footing with mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the US for the first time. The person representing Türkiye was Kalın, who has been serving as the head of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) for two years.”

Yedioth Aharonoth continued:

“Kalın is well-acquainted with Mossad director David Barnea, former Shin Bet director Ronen Bar, and National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi. He was also in contact with Israel’s former ambassador to Türkiye, Irit Lillian, inviting her to discussions in broader diplomatic forums. An Israeli official said, ‘He genuinely listened to the assessments of the Israeli side.'”

The report emphasizes that, unlike Erdoğan, who frequently directs harsh criticism at Israel, Kalın evaluates the situation with a much more “nuanced perspective.”

The report states, “Kalın publicly echoed the president’s criticisms that Israel ’caused great suffering to the residents of Gaza,’ but according to sources, the situation of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas genuinely affected him deeply.”

The report includes the following:

“Kalın recognizes Israel as a state and, as an intelligence chief, quietly maintains professional relations with his Israeli counterparts. A small example of this occurred last week in Sharm el-Sheikh. Retired Major General Nitzan Alon, Head of the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] Hostage and Missing Persons Directorate, approached Kalın and embraced him naturally.”

A high-level intelligence source stressed that Kalın is not anti-Israel, saying, “He is a smart, principled, intellectual man with unusual hobbies.”

Noting that Kalın “frequently uploads videos of himself playing the bağlama and singing folk songs to the internet,” Yedioth Aharonoth says, “This is an unimaginable image for the heads of Israel’s Mossad or Shin Bet. Another of his passions is nature photography: landscapes and wildlife, never people.”

The newspaper writes that during the recent talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Erdoğan’s office in Ankara called Kalın four times to ask for the latest updates on the negotiations. It reports that Erdoğan described the ceasefire as “very fragile,” while Kalın stated, “We will be in Gaza to ensure the agreement is implemented.”

The Israeli newspaper then makes the following claim:

“People close to Kalın indicate that he hopes to gradually and cautiously re-establish relations with Israel. Turkish Airlines has hinted at plans to resume flights to Israel, requesting takeoff and landing slots at Ben Gurion Airport. Until two years ago, there were 14 flights a day between the two countries, but tourism came to a halt due to tensions. A source close to Kalın said, ‘He wants to break the ice, send a Turkish ambassador to Tel Aviv, host an Israeli envoy in Ankara, restart flights, revive tourism, and strengthen trade and agricultural cooperation.'”

According to Yedioth Aharonoth, Israeli intelligence profiles describe Kalın as “intellectual, slightly eccentric, spiritually inclined, religious but tolerant, and respectful of other faiths.”

From Israel’s perspective, Kalın’s greatest advantage is his direct contact with the Hamas leadership in Qatar and certain figures in Gaza. These connections helped Israel reach those holding its hostages. However, according to the newspaper, no such direct communication existed before Trump’s decision to include Türkiye in the talks.

The report notes that Israeli officials “quietly acknowledge” that Ankara has applied significant pressure on the Hamas leadership in recent days. According to the report, in one of their recent conversations, Erdoğan insisted to Kalın, “Do not leave Sharm until an agreement is reached.” Kalın later told the president, “We will stay until white smoke rises.”

Yedioth Aharonoth recalls that Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya, seen in a video after surviving an Israeli attack in Qatar, said he “received assurances from Kalın that the war was completely over.”

People close to Kalın, whose views were included in the report, warn that Israel has a “bad reputation” for offering “unconvincing excuses” while violating agreements.

In fact, according to diplomatic sources, the Turkish delegation led by Kalın even pushed for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be invited to the “Peace Summit” in Sharm el-Sheikh, which was to coincide with the release of the hostages.

A source explained the reason for this, saying, “Because Israel needs to be there when the official documents are signed. No excuses: Netanyahu should not be allowed to escape.”