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Since the fall of President Bashar Assad in Syria late last
year, Israel and Turkey have been competing over their separate
interests there. Syria’s Foreign Ministry has said Israeli jets
have struck a Syrian airbase. Turkey purportedly hopes to use
the base to extend its influence.
Israel also fears that Syria’s new Islamist leadership will pose
a new threat along its border and has set up a buffer zone
inside Syrian territory. Turkey’s emergence as a key player in
Syria, meanwhile, has prompted Israeli concerns over a larger
Turkish military presence. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu said Tuesday that Turkish bases in Syria would be a
“danger to Israel.”
Ankara is supporting the new Syrian government, which is led by
former rebels it backed during the 13-year civil war. The
support includes counterterrorism operations against the Islamic
State group.
The Defense Ministry official said that assessments for the
establishment of a base for joint Turkish-Syrian training are
ongoing, adding that such activities followed international law
“without targeting third countries.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Wednesday that Turkey
had “no intention of conflict in Syria, not only with Israel but
with any country in the region." But he added that Ankara
"cannot watch Syria being subjected to an internal turmoil, an
operation, a provocation that will threaten Turkey’s national
security.”
Once strong regional partners, ties between Israel and Turkey
have long been frosty and deteriorated further over the
Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
has been an outspoken critic of the war, prompting angry
reactions from Israeli officials.
Netanyahu this week sought to hear support from his ally
President Donald Trump on a country Israel perceives as
increasingly hostile. Instead, Trump lavished praise on Erdogan
for “taking over Syria,” positioned himself as a possible
mediator between the countries and urged Netanyahu to be
“reasonable” in his dealings with Turkey.
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