Turkish President Erdogan Claims Israel Is Biggest Threat to Syria

Latest Developments

Erdogan Accuses Israel of Seeking ‘Fragmentation’ of Syria: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan labeled Israel the “primary obstacle” to a stable Syria on December 16, pledging that Ankara would continue to support the Ahmed al-Sharaa-led government responsible for ousting former dictator Bashar al-Assad from power in late 2024. “It is clear who will benefit from the fragmentation of Syria,” Erdogan said, adding that “a safer tomorrow for Syria is only possible with a vision of common history and all segments of society.” Shortly after Assad’s removal, the IDF moved into the buffer zone that separates the Israeli Golan Heights from Syrian territory, with Israel reportedly insisting on remaining in the region unless the new Syrian government agrees to a full peace and normalization deal with the Jewish state.
Turkish Threats Against Kurdish Forces: Erdogan also warned against U.S. cooperation with the People’s Defense Units (YPG), the primary component of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which operates alongside the United States to combat ISIS. The YPG recently agreed to integrate into the Syrian security forces, but Erdogan declared nonetheless that “if [the YPG] resists [integration], it will turn into a crisis.” Meanwhile, a Turkish media outlet recently reported that if the SDF does not integrate into the Syrian national military by the end of 2025, “Damascus will carry out an operation and [Turkey] will support it.”
U.S. Envoy Meets With Netanyahu for Regional Brief: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met Tom Barrack, the U.S. special envoy for Syria and ambassador to Turkey, on December 15 to discuss Israeli military action in Syria amid ongoing negotiations for a broad security deal between Jerusalem and Damascus. After the meeting, Barrack posted on X that the delegations had held “constructive dialogue (while) working towards regional peace and stability.” One source told The Jerusalem Post that “Israel and the United States see eye-to-eye” on Syria, while another said that “each side now understands what it needs to do” to work toward a security deal between the Syrian and Israeli governments.

FDD Expert Response

“With Erdogan, everything is projection. He accuses Israel of undermining Syria when Turkey is seeking to dominate it. He speaks of an Israeli genocide in Gaza while Turkey brutalizes the Kurds and crushes their aspirations for nationhood or even autonomy. He rails against Israeli occupation whilst occupying Northern Cyprus. And he warns of Israeli aggression against Turkey while nursing ambitions to rebuild the Ottoman Empire and ‘liberate’ Jerusalem. Turkey cannot be trusted with any active role in President Trump’s peace initiatives in Gaza, Lebanon, or Syria.” — Edmund Fitton-Brown, Senior Fellow

“Erdogan is the only leader who consistently threatens regional actors with war because Ankara’s Syria policy differs from theirs. In Erdogan’s view, Israel and the Syrian Kurds, who question whether the Sharaa government can deliver a stable and secure Syria, are obstacles that need to be rebuked and militarily thwarted. Under no circumstances should Erdogan be considered an agent of peace.” — Sinan Ciddi, Senior Fellow

“Erdogan claims Israel is the primary source of instability, yet at the same time, his government is threatening military action against the SDF, a U.S. counterterrorism partner, and intervening aggressively in what is fundamentally an intra-Syrian issue. If Erdogan truly cared about stability in Syria, he would allow Syrians to negotiate directly with the SDF on an arrangement that addresses both sides’ concerns, rather than imposing one shaped solely by Turkish interests.” — Ahmad Sharawi, Research Analyst