Why Turkey sees Israeli strikes in Syria as warning over its military role, Mecca Pact
Ankara views Israel’s latest strikes in Syria as part of a broader effort to curb Turkey’s military influence in Damascus and a challenge to its regional defense partnerships.
Ankara sees Israel’s strikes on Syria earlier this week as both a warning over Turkey’s expanding military cooperation with Damascus and its new defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and a sign that Israel is broadening its red lines in Syria.
Israel’s Tuesday attack on the Abu al-Duhur base in northern Syria, roughly 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the Turkish border, has increased fears of a direct confrontation between Israel and Turkey.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday that Damascus had been on the verge of violating a security “status quo” with Israel by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the facility, a move Israel said would threaten its security. Ankara rejected the claim as "frivolous," saying Israel was using allegations about Turkey’s military posture to justify unlawful strikes on Syrian territory. The Turkish presidency also accused Netanyahu of using the strikes to bolster his election campaign ahead of Israel’s October vote. Both Syria and Turkey strongly condemned the strikes.
How Ankara perceives the Israeli strikes
