{"id":228865,"date":"2026-07-30T07:43:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T07:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/228865\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T07:43:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T07:43:09","slug":"why-israeli-leaders-target-turkey-and-syria-as-strategic-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/228865\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Israeli leaders target Turkey and Syria as strategic threats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rhetoric against Turkey<\/a> and Syria<\/a> continues to be a constant theme in Israeli politics. It is being noticed in Turkey.<\/p>\n

Turkish media is increasingly reporting on Israeli comments. It is important to examine how this rhetoric is now framing Ankara\u2019s role in Syria and also how Turkey may interpret the comments.<\/p>\n

Turkish media reported on July 30 that Turkey\u2019s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with the newly elected Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya.<\/p>\n

This will be seen in Jerusalem in a negative light, in line with a sense that Ankara is a rising threat.<\/p>\n

First, a little history.<\/p>\n

\"AA demonstrator holds a sign depicting a collage of the faces of incument Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during an anti-government protest. (credit: JACK GUEZ\/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES)Historic ties between Israel, Turkey<\/p>\n

Turkey and Israel have historic ties that date back to the era before the state of Israel was created. Zionist leaders David Ben-Gurion and Yitzhak Ben-Zvi studied law in Istanbul in 1913.<\/p>\n

After the founding of Israel, Turkey became the first Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel. Israel and Turkey had good relations until the rise of the AKP party in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n

Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan became increasingly critical of Israel, especially after the 2009 war in Gaza. This rhetoric was met with some attempts at reconciliation, most recently in 2021.<\/p>\n

However, the Hamas attack and Gaza war have soured relations to a new low.<\/p>\n

From Jerusalem\u2019s point of view, Turkey is increasingly not just pushing hostile narratives; it is potentially a strategic or regional threat. This dovetails with increasing critique of Qatar by Israeli politicians.<\/p>\n

Several years ago, Doha was seen as helpful with Hamas in Gaza. Cash from Doha was flowing via Israel to Gaza. After October 7, the perception of Turkey and Qatar has shifted in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

This results now in almost weekly statements against Turkey and also Qatar.<\/p>\n

In addition, there are also weekly statements against Syria. Syria\u2019s leadership is often called \u201cjihadist,\u201d and there are threats of war with Syria.<\/p>\n

Israel is already involved in conflicts in Lebanon and Gaza, and fighting terrorism in the West Bank. It\u2019s interesting to see voices in Jerusalem also pushing for war in Syria. Israel\u2019s early leadership preferred war as a last resort.<\/p>\n

Today, after more than 1,000 days of war, the rhetoric generally argues for more war on more fronts, with a sense that Israel is now the strongest military in the region and, with US support, can fight more enemies.<\/p>\n

The White House, however, has appeared to push back against Israel\u2019s role in Syria, particularly friction with local villagers near the Golan.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration also wants to see peace in Gaza and Lebanon, not more war. The Trump administration also has warm ties with Turkey and Qatar, potentially creating a challenge for policymakers in Jerusalem who predict hostility with these countries.<\/p>\n

The rhetoric is beginning to be noticed more in the region. ANHA news, also known as Hawar News Agency, is a Kurdish outlet.<\/p>\n

Israel to establish Syrian bases if Turkey does<\/p>\n

It reported on July 28 that \u201cIsraeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Israel would be compelled to establish military bases inside Syria if Turkey proceeds with plans to set up its own military bases on Syrian territory.\u201d<\/p>\n

It added that \u201cCohen stressed that Tel Aviv [Jerusalem] would not stand idly by in the face of any Turkish military deployment in neighboring Syria, asserting that Israel would respond in kind to safeguard its national security and protect its strategic interests in the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

On July 23, Daily Sabah, a pro-government Turkish outlet, noted that \u201cIsraeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said on Wednesday that Israel should prepare for the possibility of a future confrontation with T\u00fcrkiye, arguing that direct military contact between the two countries was \u2018not an impossible scenario.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It went on to report that \u201cspeaking at a conference in west Jerusalem, Chikli said a direct encounter between the Israeli and Turkish militaries could occur at sea, adding that such a scenario could happen \u2018even tomorrow morning.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Middle East Eye reported in June that \u201cIsrael ‘will be at war with Syria sooner or later’, says Likud minister.\u201d The pro-government Turkish outlet Yeni Safak noted in March that \u201cFormer Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett sparked controversy Wednesday with provocative statements targeting Turkey during a live Bloomberg interview.<\/p>\n

Bennett described Turkey as a \u2018new strategic threat\u2019 to Israel and hinted at possible action against Ankara, saying \u2018the choice is up to Turkey and warning, \u2018after Iran, we won’t stay idle.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

On July 29, Daily Sabah also reported that \u201cIsraeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday renewed his hostile rhetoric against Turkey, issuing a series of pointed remarks on regional security, Syria and Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n

It went on to note that \u201cduring an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, Katz said Israel does not seek a military confrontation with T\u00fcrkiye but argued that his country would defend itself against any threat.<\/p>\n

Referring to the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, he said: \u2018We are not the collapsing Christian empire. Jerusalem is not Constantinople, and we know how to defend ourselves.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Then the report says that \u201cthe Israeli minister also argued that Ankara is seeking greater influence in Syria and said Israel would not allow Syria to become a platform that could threaten its security.\u201d A separate comment from Bennett at the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations in February also was reported at Media Line. He spoke about how \u201cTurkey is the new Iran,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n

Iran considered a threat to Israel, entire region<\/p>\n

Currently, Iran is still considered a threat to Israel and the region. It continues to have ballistic missiles, and despite five months of conflict since February, Iran continues its attacks. It is now clear how Israel expects to take on Turkey, a member of NATO, if Iran has not been vanquished.<\/p>\n

If Turkey is viewed as the \u201cnew Iran,\u201d the fact is that Turkey has a powerful army, air force and navy.<\/p>\n

Most of the examples of recent Israeli statements about Turkey can be found on the social media news site Clash Report, which describes itself as a \u201cglobal platform that focuses on conflict zones around the world, delivering detailed analyses and up-to-date news.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clash Report has been critiqued for being pro-Ankara. On July 29, it highlighted on X comments by Bennett \u201con US selling F-35 jets to Turkey.\u201d The report claimed Bennett said, \u201cwe cannot allow our enemies to be armed, because then we won’t be able to defend ourselves against this very advanced weaponry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ragip Soylu, the Turkey Bureau Chief of Middle East Eye, noted the Bennett comments in an X post, noting the Bennett called Turkey an \u201cenemy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clash Report also highlighted Eli Cohen\u2019s comments in a July 28 post. \u201cIsraeli Minister of Energy Eli Cohen: We will not accept T\u00fcrkiye’s entrenchment in Syria.\u201d It added that Cohen noted, \u201cif Turkey establishes bases in Syria, we will also act to establish bases within Syria itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s discussions with Trump about Turkey are also becoming more pronounced. According to reports in Israeli media on July 29, Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu showed US President Donald Trump a map to compare Israel\u2019s presence in Syria.<\/p>\n

Trump has often highlighted his positive relationship with Erdogan<\/a> and also noted that Erdogan doesn\u2019t get along with Israel\u2019s prime minister. Trump appears to want to highlight that he can balance these two friends in the region. Trump has also been supportive of Syria\u2019s leader.<\/p>\n

Recent tensions with Syria have involved Israeli civilians trying to sneak into Syria. In addition, there have been clashes with local villagers who oppose the IDF<\/a> presence.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s demands that Syria not have forces near the border have turned the border area with the Golan, beyond the 1974 ceasefire lines, into a kind of no-man\u2019s land of low-level chaos and power vacuum. By demanding no Syrian military presence, it is hard for Syria to create stability.<\/p>\n

This creates a possible self-fulfilling prophecy for Israel. Israeli officials see Syria as a threat. This leads to a power vacuum near the border, and a threat could emerge as civilians don\u2019t want to live under IDF raids and IDF rule.<\/p>\n

This is a major shift from the era of the Assad regime when Israel provided support for Syrian civilians near the border. Now the civilians only see hostility from the IDF rather than the support of the previous era.<\/p>\n

Turkey\u2019s leadership has taken note of Israeli comments. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan sought to tone down some rhetoric on Israel in mid-July. Ankara is worried about a clash in Syria, it seems.<\/p>\n

On July 30, Turkey\u2019s pro-government Anadolu noted that \u201cTurkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Wednesday with Khalil al-Hayya, the newly elected head of Hamas’ Political Bureau, and a Hamas delegation, according to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

This won\u2019t help ties with Jerusalem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rhetoric against Turkey and Syria continues to be a constant theme in Israeli politics. It is being noticed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":228866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[30],"tags":[8555,18790,3748,496,5656,1411,37,18965,24438,1189,271,95,1176],"class_list":["post-228865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-syria","tag-david-ben-gurion","tag-erdogan","tag-foreign-ministry","tag-gaza","tag-gaza-war","tag-hamas","tag-israel","tag-israel-syria","tag-israel-turkey","tag-jerusalem","tag-qatar","tag-syria","tag-turkey"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/117007810952868656","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=228865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/228865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=228865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=228865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=228865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}