Several Turkish media outlets identified Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh’s assassin by a joke name on Thursday, even profiling and speculating on the origin of the fake Mossad agent.
Outlets such as Akdeniz Gercek Gazetesi and Guneydogu Ekspress identified the operative behind the Wednesday death of Haniyeh in Tehran as “Amit Nakesh.”
The name, Amit Nakesh is a corruption of “hamitnakesh,” Hebrew for “the assassin.”
Some outlets like Usak Olay even created backgrounds for the fake agent, claiming that he was a former IDF officer who had served in a secret intelligence unit and was known for his experience in specialized operations. Herkes Duysun identified his rank as colonel.
Usak Olay and Akdeniz Gercek said that Nakesh’s name drew Turkish social media speculation that he was of Indian origin.
Mock assassin, blame Israeli manipulation
However, the outlets assured it was known that he was an Israeli citizen and was well known for his intelligence exploits. The former news site claimed that Nakesh’s profile was key to understanding the assassination.
Takvim blamed intentional Israeli manipulation for the proliferation of Nakesh’s name and ostensible profile in Turkish media.
The joke was evocative of a previous incident in which reports circulated following the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Social media users and a telegram channel affiliated with Hamas claimed that Raisi had been assassinated by Mossad agent Eli Copter, the name being a corruption of the word “helicopter.”
