Turkey has vehemently rejected Israeli allegations that it posed a threat by preparing to send troops to a base in Syria, which was hit in a strike that the United States blamed on Israel. The strike marked extraordinary defiance by Israel of the United States, which has sought to support Syria's new government led by a former jihadist allied with Turkey.
"Israel and Syria agreed to a status quo in security matters, which Syria was on the verge of breaching by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement after a day of official silence by Israel. "Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel's security. Syria chose to ignore these warnings," the statement added, stopping short of acknowledging Israeli responsibility.
Turkey, the first Muslim-majority nation to recognize Israel and a NATO ally of the United States, slammed Israel's remarks in a statement on Wednesday. "The frivolous allegations put forward by the Israeli Prime Minister's office aim to legitimize Israel's unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the Turkish government said, quoted by the Anadolu state news agency.
US envoy for Syria Tom Barrack confirmed earlier on Tuesday that Israel carried out the strikes on the Abu Duhur air base in Idlib province. "The attacks constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability," Barrack, a business friend of President Donald Trump who is also ambassador to Turkey, wrote on X. "We encourage all parties to prioritize logical discourse over further military incidents."
Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on Syria since the December 2024 toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad by Islamist forces led by former jihadist Ahmed al-Sharaa, who relies on support from Turkey. Despite the tense relations, Israel and Syria's new authorities have held several rounds of direct talks and have agreed to establish an intelligence-sharing mechanism.
Syria's foreign ministry condemned "in the strongest terms the Israeli airstrikes" targeting the base, calling them "an unjustified act of aggression" and urging action by the UN Security Council. The attacks come as Syria "has exercised restraint and worked to consolidate stability and avoid escalation," it added. UN chief Antonio Guterres on a visit to Damascus last month said that "violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity are unacceptable and must cease," adding that "the Golan Heights are Syrian territory."
