Israel Warns Turkey After Strikes on Syrian Airbase

Israel issued a veiled threat against Turkey on Thursday after Israeli strikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in northern Syria, about 70 kilometres from the Turkish border. In a social media post, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said: “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is dragging Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria.”

Katz said Israel would not “allow any entity to threaten its security.” He added that Erdogan would be better off curbing his anti-Israel rhetoric rather than “attempting to test Israel’s resolve to defend itself.” Israel also accused Syria of being on the verge of violating a security “status quo agreed with Israel” by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the airbase.

The Turkish defence ministry said in a statement that there was no Turkish military presence at the Abu al-Duhur airbase before or during Israel’s “unacceptable” attack. Syrian officials told Middle East Eye that a Turkish technical team had been tasked with repairing the runway and control tower, but that there was no Turkish military presence at the base. One official said the last team assigned to reconstruct the base had been there two days earlier. The officials added that Turkey had been helping the Syrian army build bases across the country, with no specific plans directed against Israel.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said he had made clear to Israel that there were no plans to establish a Turkish military base and that the site was being rehabilitated for use by the Syrian Air Force. In an interview with Axios on Wednesday, Shaibani said: “There was no intention to establish a Turkish base there, nor to establish a permanent Turkish military presence or deploy Turkish forces at the site.” The Turkish defence ministry said it would continue to support Syria’s efforts to build its infrastructure and military capabilities “within the framework of the ‘single army’ principle.”

The strikes renewed tensions between Turkey and Israel, despite extensive talks last year that led to the establishment of a diplomatic hotline intended to prevent accidents. Turkish officials told Middle East Eye that Israel did not use the hotline, which they said was an attempt to provoke Ankara. Sources in Ankara believed Washington may have notified Turkey of the impending strikes, giving Turkish officials reassurance about why Israeli jets were approaching the Turkish border.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Turkish presidency said Israel’s actions were driven by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign ahead of the general election in October. Netanyahu said Israel had warned Syria before the strike not to allow a Turkish presence at the base. “Our message was very clear: Don’t. I guess they didn’t quite understand the message,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

Tom Barrack, the US special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, told Reuters after Tuesday’s strikes that Washington was working to establish a deconfliction mechanism among Israel, Turkey and Syria, a practical step in the work of peacemaking (Matthew 5:9).

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