Israel Condemns Turkish Military Build-Up in Syria After Striking Base Near Border

Israel is seeking international support following its recent airstrike on a Turkish military base in northern Syria, which has escalated tensions with Turkey and drawn criticism from the US envoy. Doron Shpilman, spokesperson for Israel's international public diplomacy, released a video on August 21 explaining the strike as a preemptive move to prevent Turkish military entrenchment near Israel's border. Shpilman noted that since Syria's civil war, Turkey has established a significant presence controlling about 5% of Syrian territory, vastly larger than Israel's roughly 0.1% presence in southern Syria near hostile groups like Hezbollah and ISIS.

Shpilman emphasized that Israel and Syria had agreed over a year ago to maintain a security status quo along their border, which was violated when Israeli intelligence detected Turkish forces preparing to deploy at the Abu al-Duhur base less than 300 kilometers from Israeli communities. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has made clear Israel will not allow Turkey to advance southward toward its border. Despite repeated warnings to Syria, Israel felt compelled to act militarily after those warnings were ignored.

The spokesperson highlighted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's openly hostile rhetoric, including calls for Israel's destruction and antagonism toward the US, questioning rhetorically if Erdogan is the kind of leader one would want on their border. Shpilman referenced the October 7 attacks as proof of the danger posed by ignoring threats from hostile actors. While Israel does not seek escalation and welcomes a return to the previous status quo, Netanyahu insists no country, including Turkey, will threaten Israel.

The strike provoked an unusual rebuke from the US envoy to Syria and Turkey, Tom Barrett, who warned such attacks could increase Turkish military presence and noted Turkey was not warned in advance, risking retaliatory strikes on Israel. Relations with Turkey have sharply deteriorated, with Ankara accusing Netanyahu's government of election-driven hostility and issuing an arrest warrant and red notice for Netanyahu, who labeled Erdogan an antisemitic dictator. Turkey's presidency dismissed Israel's claims as part of an election strategy.