Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Israel’s recent strikes on key air bases in central Syria were apparently meant as a message to Turkey, which has been working to expand its military presence in the war torn country since its Islamists allies managed to topple the Assad regime last December.
The T4, Syria’s largest air base, and the nearby Palmyra military airport in the eastern Homs countryside were hit by Israeli strikes on March 21 and 25.
Following both attacks, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that it targeted “remaining military capabilities” at the air bases. Damage from the strikes was extensive, with the runway and multiple hardened aircraft shelters at the T4 being hit. In addition, warplanes and air defense systems were reportedly destroyed.
Israel’s worries about Turkey’s role in post-Assad Syria began to grow immediately after the Islamist forces backed by Ankara took over the country.
The IDF 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.
In January, the “Security Budget and Force Building Review Committee,” known as the “Nagel Committee” after its chairman Yaakov Nagel, warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a report about the dangers of an alliance between Turkey and Syria.
The report stated, according to the Jerusalem Post, that such an alliance could “create a new and significant threat to Israel’s security,” potentially evolving into something “more dangerous than the Iranian threat.”
The committee concluded that Israel must prepare for a direct confrontation with Turkey in light of potential tensions due to what it described as “Turkey’s ambitions to restore its Ottoman influence.”
“The threat from Syria could evolve into something even more dangerous than the Iranian threat,” the committee said in a report delivered to the primer, warning that Turkish-backed forces might act as proxies, fueling regional instability.
These worries began to materialize in February, when Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed a joint defense pact in Ankara, including establishing Turkish air bases in central Syria and training for Syria’s new army.
At the time, Reuters reported citing a regional intelligence official that Turkey could take over the T4 and Palmyra air bases.
In mid-March, a third air base located in northern Syria, further away from Israel came into picture. Turkish media reported that Menagh Air base in the northern Aleppo countryside was taken over by the Turkish military to be turned into a Joint Military Facility.
Around the same time, several reports emerged from Syria regarding aerial incidents that included friction between Israeli and Turkish air force warplanes. Nevertheless, these incidents were not confirmed by either side.
The Turkish moves were most likely behind the Israeli decision to launch the first attack against the T4 and Palmyra air bases.
Following the attack, Hebrew media reported that Netanyahu was holding security consultations to discuss concerns over Turkish influence in Syria.
The Walla news website, citing Israeli security sources, 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 Damascus.
This development sparked significant Israeli concerns, the sources said, noting that the new Syrian regime was working to restore military bases and enhance missile and defense capabilities in the southern region.
Additionally, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu, through his advisors, was pushing Israeli media to portray that “a confrontation with Turkey on Syrian territory was inevitable.”
After these reports, the second wave of strikes hit the T4 and Palmyra. Unusual clashes broke out in southern Syria on the same day when an Israeli patrol came under attack near the town of Koayiah in the western Daraa countryside. The IDF returned fire and killed at least six local gunmen.
Aside from condemnations, Syria and Turkey have so far refrained from responding in any meaningful way to Israel’s recent actions. Yet, the two countries remain on the path of a strategic alliance.
Israel will likely attempt to reach some understanding with Turkey over the situation in Syria. At the same time it will likely continue to enforce several red lines, including some already announced by Netanyahu like the demilitarization of southern Syria and others unannounced ones like preventing the country from reobtaining advanced military capabilities, like air defenses.
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https://t.me/danielmkovalik/2112 do you really not understand that the druze chose better allies than the alawites? do you really not understand why druze are members of the idf and why druze defend other druze and why druze fight under the star of david?
on this telegram link there is a genocide that would end immediately if the people who fled to iraq signed an objection with the uae.
it would be nice if the uae helped the fugitive generals who fled to iraq to liberate syria from this criminal jolani&erdogan regime. we must be aware that erdogan once destroyed libya and that this same erdogan tried to destroy even egypt, but then israel put the erdogans monster morsi in prison.
i would love it if the emirates really did a good job and help the people who fled to iraq defeat erdogan’s criminal servants.
unlike the druze, they chose the wrong allies and are therefore destroyed and exiled. if you have iran and russia as allies, you don’t need any enemies.
aren’t iran and russia ashamed of their betrayal of syria?
will russia be ashamed of its betrayal of iran, which is forthcoming.
whores, quislings, traitors, turncoats, that’s all you need to understand.
https://t.me/danielmkovalik/2112 40,000 killed alawites and christians go to the soul of the traitor putler.
this will continue if people do not sign a contract with the uae.
i agree, those officers who fled to iraq must definitely connect with the emirates, because otherwise this massacre of innocent people will not stop.
wakey wakey you. 💩 supply a link to this proposed contractual agreement with the over-rated camel fuckers will you ? you’re a real funny shit aren’t you ? imo. hahahahahaha
this is a horrific crime for which erdogan is guilty. israel have every right to bomb all of turkey
are you surprised that the druze hung the israeli flag? https://t.me/danielmkovalik/2025 why does iran mind if israel defends the druze and if the druze are members of the idf? i hope israel does to turkey what it did to gaza.
it is possible for the druze, who are not allies of iran and russia. it is possible for the druze, who are not allies of iran and russia.
😂😂😂can try any time.
this is called annexed territory. the years passed and israel grew. this is normal when there is a fascist muslim brotherhood that kills everyone, especially muslims. the muslim brotherhood was once driven from the vicinity of vienna by jan sobieski. nikola zrinski, stepan sindjelić, andrej turjaški and dracula also fought against muslim brotherhood.
israel would have to growed so much that russia would have two bases in israel.
“φασιστικη”..μουσουλμανικη ? τον μ.μουσολινι τον ξερετε ?? εχετε παει σχολειο ???
hezbollah and nasrallah also thought they were invincible. thus, for thirty years, nasrallah and netanyahu were able to circulate in parallel until nasrallah crash on netanyahu’s path. now they don’t have a single working missile left. there is one israel and as the verse goes, whoever blesses israel will be blessed, whoever curses israel will be cursed.
the verse written by shlomo himself for shlomo. “i am so wonderful that everybody has to bow down and worship me instead of worshipping god.”dkn
ζητω ο “γιαχ-βε” !!! αλληλου’ι’α !!!
i understand them, they get security from israel and they themselves earn good money in the idf. i think katz should also enlist kurds in the idf, and not just those in syria but also those in turkey, iraq, and iran.
mercenary whores tend to come to a sticky end, especially those who whore themselves out to the genocidal zionist terror regime.
ripe for escalation, especially now that erdogan has problems in turkey. an israeli/turkish confrontation on the cards? would be a good one to watch.
what if there really is an israeli attack on a nato member?
netanyahu and katz should to expel by force erdogan and jolani to moscow, that they are in lunatic asylum there fighting with bashar assad over donuts.
ok little girl
lucky to get 10% actual commentary in some articles now. the bullshitters’ insecurity is on show. they must think we’re a threat. boo hoo 😢
then the turkish destruction of countries would end. it was enough. libya is completely destroyed, afghanistan is completely destroyed, syria is completely destroyed, the armenian genocide, only el sisi managed to wrest egypt from the clutches of morsi.
me too, i wonder what nato would say if israel actually managed to unite everyone from the kurds to the alawites and attack nato member – turkey? what would iran do if israel were actually defending the alawites?
israel defend the alawites??? muslims kill christians and other muslims make israel very happy.
οταν ξυπνησεις.. φτιαξε καφε.. να ξυπνησης καλα !!
according to the inbred schizophrenic jews, everything is a threat. that’s what happens when you are god’s chosen chimpanzee. you chimp out every now and then
https://t.me/danielmkovalik/2112 are hts saints or what? if a druze girl is kidnapped, at least a drone will come and blow up the car with the kidnapping victim in it. better for her.
that’s why they still have sharon’s instructions to shoot even if it means the death of israelis.
well said bravo
by all means, those two russian bases should be inside israel, not outside.
what you waiting for go and do it
the bases must be in israel. all the problems with the alawites are because they are outside israel. they should be inside israel, and they will no longer have any problems. they welcome wahhabi villains like jolani. then they have 40,000 slaughtered in the hundred days of the wahhabi government. these people are too stupid for elections. their bosses should be elected by uae or katz.
shlomo has enough goy whores and pimps already.
στο.. κεφαλι σου χωρανε ?
it would be nice if the fugitive generals who fled to iraq received help from the uae.
exactly. the uae should equip them, provide them with air support, and choose syria’s leadership from among them. the central bank should be israeli, because they are too stupid to have their own central bank. the uae should patrol the country as they wanted to do in somalia. certainly, isis and turkey must not retain syria under any circumstances.
ουαου !!! εισαι, τεραστιος.. γεωπολιτικος αναλυτης !!!
riots in istanbul and now this pre planned aggression against turkish interests by the eternally victimised howlers. if the turks didn’t see this coming, they’re lax, but i think not. perhaps this yank embassy in istanbul needs 6 – 8 2000 lb bombs dropped on it. that’s where the disorder is emanating from, as previously.
trump should make constantinople christian again.
if erdogan is overthrown, i’ll toast with champagne.
you won’t get past bottle shop security, clown.
turkey is part of nato. nato is pro antichrist israel.
bet you have a few big holes you can fill with the landfill jews if you so decide to do something about the jews in palestine!
the putin/trump/netanyahu triumvirate marches on. sorry erdogan.
a threat to turkey but not russia? before assad was toppled especially, we neglected to frame the logic in such terms to avoid being embarrassed? russia-israel ties have to be addressed. russia cannot have it both ways
meh! it is preposterous to claim that israel and turkey are not best friends. ridiculous!
what if… turkey vs israel in war? nato country and us backed country. large vs small. what would iran do? and other arabs? that would be end of israel…..
israel is also preventing a technology transfer from t4 remnants (air defense, older sukhoi 22, 23, 24 s) to its large defense industries.