Israel warns Erdogan against 'dangerous adventures' in Syria

Israel has issued a stern warning to Ankara, significantly raising the stakes in the dispute over Syria just days after an Israeli strike on a Syrian air base. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday of "leading Turkey into dangerous adventures in Syria," making it clear that Tel Aviv will not accept actions it deems a threat to its security.

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We will not allow any entity to threaten our security. It would be better for Erdogan to continue his imaginative rhetoric against Israel – which lacks contact with reality – within the Turkish Grand National Assembly, rather than attempting to test Israel's determination to defend itself.

"We will not allow any entity to threaten our security. It would be better for Erdogan to continue his imaginative rhetoric against Israel – which lacks contact with reality – within the Turkish Grand National Assembly, rather than attempting to test Israel's determination to defend itself," Katz stated in a post on X. His intervention follows an Israeli attack on Tuesday at the Abu al-Duhur air base in northwestern Syria.

Israel claimed Damascus was close to violating a "status quo" that, according to Israel, had been agreed upon for security matters, allowing the deployment of Turkish troops at the facility. Syria, however, rejects Israel's assertion. Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad stated that he had made it clear to the Israeli side that there was no plan to establish a Turkish military base at Abu al-Duhur and that the work being carried out was aimed at restoring the facility for use by the Syrian Air Force.

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There was no intention to create a Turkish base there, nor to have a permanent Turkish military presence or deployment of Turkish forces.

"There was no intention to create a Turkish base there, nor to have a permanent Turkish military presence or deployment of Turkish forces," the Syrian Foreign Minister told Axios. He admitted that Turkish military personnel had visited the base, but clarified that their presence was linked to training activities and broader military cooperation between Ankara and Damascus. According to him, the facility remains largely empty and is not yet operational. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Israel had warned Syria before the strike not to allow a Turkish presence at the base. "Our message was very clear: Don't do it. I guess they didn't quite understand the message," Netanyahu said on Wednesday. Mekdad responded that there was no legal justification for the bombing, insisting that Syria was not proceeding with Turkish military deployment in the area. Ankara had already categorically rejected Israel's claims a day earlier, calling them "unsubstantiated allegations" regarding its military presence in Syria.

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Our message was very clear: Don't do it. I guess they didn't quite understand the message.