Turkey’s Military Presence in Syria is a Threat to Israel

Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, received a warm welcome at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum in Turkey on April 11, where his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, lambasted Israel as a “terrorist state.” Together with 20 other heads of state, Sharaa also heard Erdogan’s pledge “to work toward a future in which Syria experiences years of stability, prosperity, and peace” — a formula increasingly understood in Israel as code for growing Turkish domination and control over Syria, with which both Jerusalem and Ankara share a border. Erdogan’s statement came just two days after Turkish and Israeli officials met in Azerbaijan for talks aimed at establishing deconfliction mechanisms amid both countries’ ongoing military operations in Syria.

Concerns Rise Over Turkey’s Intentions in Syria

Since the ousting of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad by Sharaa’s rebel organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Erdogan has sought to influence the new regime, seizing on the opportunity left by the reduced sway of Assad’s primary supporters, Russia and Iran.

Turkey’s involvement in Syria goes back to 2012, when Ankara began supporting jihadist forces to topple the Assad regime and engineer regime change. In the wake of Assad’s downfall, Ankara has offered to train a new Syrian army and modernize the country’s military bases and airports. Additionally, Turkey maintains a direct military presence inside Syria, comprising thousands of Turkish troops.

Israel has voiced growing concern over Turkey’s deepening role in Syria, particularly fearing that the Sharaa’s government will open the door for Islamist terrorist groups hostile to Israel to gain a foothold in southern Syria. On April 3, Israeli warplanes struck the T4 airbase, a facility formerly used by the Assad regime, which reports indicate was being prepared for use as a Turkish air base that could house Turkish fighter jets and drones. Israel sent a clear message that the Jewish state would not tolerate Turkey’s goal of dominating the Middle East by projecting military power from within Syria.

Meeting in Azerbaijan

According to a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli delegation — led by National Security Council Director Tzachi Hanegbi and composed of senior Defense Ministry and security officials — met with Turkish officials to explore avenues for coordination. Both sides agreed to continue dialogue to help preserve regional stability. Host Azerbaijan is a close strategic partner of Turkey and a longstanding diplomatic ally of Israel. Despite this, Israel’s Kan news agency reported that Turkey denied overflight permission to the Israeli delegation en route to the talks in Azerbaijan, forcing the Israelis to reroute over the Black Sea.

The talks in Azerbaijan presented Israel with the opportunity to convey its concerns about Turkey’s military buildup inside Syria. Syrian military bases that are occupied by the Turkish military present an unacceptable security challenge.

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Hamas, Erdogan has offered maximum support to Hamas, to the point of urging  the destruction of Israel. On April 10, Israeli police and the Shin Bet intelligence agency announced that they had uncovered a terror financing network linked to Hamas in Turkey. Operated by Israeli Arab citizens, the network funneled millions of dollars from Hamas operatives in Turkey into the West Bank to support terrorist activities.

In addition to the talks in Azerbaijan, the United States has an opportunity to convince Turkey to back down in Syria. Erdogan has expressed a strong interest in meeting with President Donald Trump in April and purchasing $20 billion in military equipment. A meeting of the two leaders would permit Trump to relay Israel’s security concerns to Erdogan.

Sinan Ciddi is a nonresident senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). Follow him on X @SinanCiddi. For more analysis from Sinan and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow FDD on X @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.