Illustrative image (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Recent Israeli strikes on Syria were meant to warn Turkey against building up a military presence in the country’s air bases, the Times of Israel reported on March 31.
The T4, Syria’s largest air base, and the nearby Palmyra military airport in the eastern Homs countryside were both hit by Israeli strikes earlier in the month.
Turkey showed interest in taking over both bases, and even discussed the matter with the Syrian Islmaist-led interim government right after the fall of the Assad regime.
The Walla news website, citing Israeli security officials, reported on March 23 that Syria was holding contacts with Turkey regarding the transfer of areas near Palmyra to the Turkish military in exchange for economic and military support for the interim government.
Israel invaded the buffer zone adjacent to the occupied Golan Heights in southern Syria just hours after the collapse of the regime on December 8. For the next few days, it launched some 500 strikes, destroying much of the country’s military capabilities.
A senior Israeli defense official told The War Zone last week that “any significant Turkish military presence, especially in strategic locations like Palmyra, could be perceived as a threat to Israeli security interests.”
In a report published on April 1, the Jerusalem Post quotes another Israeli official as saying that “If a Turkish air base is established in Syria, it would undermine Israel’s freedom of operation. This is a potential threat that we oppose.”
An Israeli political official told Maariv on the same day that Turkey was working to limit Israeli aerial operations in Syria. However, the official noted that Israel was not interested in a confrontation with Turkey.
It’s worth noting that these reports came after Israel’s Channel 12 revealed in mid-March that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, through his advisors, was pushing Israeli media to portray that “a confrontation with Turkey on Syrian territory was inevitable.”
Turkey will certainly continue its work to establish a lasting military presence in Syria. Israel, from its side, will likely attempt to reach some understanding with Ankara over the situation in the country. While a confrontation between the two seems unlikely, they could engage in a proxy war. In this case, the Syrian interim government will face serious consequences for its alliance with Ankara.
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