Tension escalated on Thursday between Israel and Turkey, two of the most powerful US allies in the Middle East, with each accusing the other of expansionism in Syria.
The escalation followed an Israeli air raid on a strategically important airbase in northern Syria, underlining unresolved geopolitical issues in the country since Bashar Al Assad was ousted in December 2024.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was “dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria”, adding that Israel “will not allow any actor” to threaten its security.
“It would be better for Erdogan to continue his detached-from-reality, fanciful rhetoric against Israel in the Turkish Grand National Assembly than to attempt to test Israel's determination to defend itself,” he wrote on X. His statement came hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel “will not tolerate a Turkish military presence pushing south”.
The Turkish presidency called the Israeli allegations “untenable” and “intended to legitimise” Israel’s “unlawful” action at Abu Al Duhur base, without ruling out any potential deployment. Turkey “will resolutely continue to co-operate with the Syrian government on stabilisation”, the presidency said.
Israel and Turkey both have a presence inside Syria, separated by a span of hundreds of kilometres, with Turkish troops believed to be in the north and the Israelis in the south, having crossed beyond an armistice line near the Golan Heights soon after Mr Assad was ousted. Turkey is also a major supporter of the Syrian President, Ahmad Al Shara.
On Tuesday, Israeli planes attacked the airbase, which is in the northern governorate of Idlib, hitting mainly the main runway and hangars. The base is situated 20km from the ancient city of Aleppo, a major business and industrial centre. There were no reports of casualties.
Axios quoted Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani as saying that Syrian officials had told Israel before the strike that the base was undergoing restoration work, and that it was going to remain under Syrian control. Mr Al Shibani said that Turkish officials had visited the base days before the Israeli strike. However, “the nature of the activity at the base was known”.
Israeli officials said Turkey was going to use the base to push its military presence beyond a zone of control it had established in Syria during the civil war. The attack prompted the US to declare that Washington is working on setting up a protocol between Turkey, Syria and Israel to avoid an escalation.
A drive by Washington to forge peace between Syria and Israel has stalled, while relations between Turkey and Israel have deteriorated in the last three years over Palestine, Lebanon, and Israel's intervention in Syria.
In 2020, Turkey came close to war with Russia over the preservation of its interests in northern Syria, four years after carving out zones of control in the area to halt the expansion of armed Kurds.
Although Turkey and Israel are not on the verge of war, a regional security source said that the Abu Al Duhur base would have become a main Turkish asset had Ankara equipped it and moved military personnel there. Its runway is particularly long and can handle all types of aircraft, the source added.
During the civil war, the base was headquarters for the 25th Special Mission Forces Division, known as the Tiger forces. The 25th Division had close ties with Russia and was among the most important formations that fought on the side of Mr Al Assad.
“Abu Al Duhur is not just an airbase. It is a complete command and control centre,” the source said.
