Israeli official: Establishing a Turkish base in Syria is a potential threat and Israel doesn’t trust the Syrian President

An Israeli security official stated that the possibility of Türkiye establishing a military base in Syria poses a potential threat to Israel.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the Israeli official said, “If a Turkish air base is established in Syria, it will undermine Israel’s freedom of operations, and we consider it a potential threat that Israel opposes”.

He added that Israel, which occupies Syrian territory, is concerned about Syrian transitional President Ahmed al Sharaa taking new steps to end the occupation.

He also admitted that they bombed the T4 air base in central Syria to send a message that Israel won’t allow airstrikes in Syria to be obstructed.

The Israeli official explained that they don’t trust Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa, saying, “He has short- and long-term goals, but his long-term goals haven’t changed; he is our enemy”.

The Israeli official stated that al Sharaa is working to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria, noting that Türkiye supports Damascus in this endeavor.

The report stated that Israeli political and security officials held security meetings over the possibility of Türkiye establishing military bases in Syria.

For his part, Ohad Tal, a member of the Israeli Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and a member of the Religious Zionism Party, attacked Türkiye in a post on his X account, saying, “Turkey is an enemy state… The Turkish embassy must be closed immediately”.

The Israeli MP called for no concessions to Türkiye, emphasizing that Israel must prevent Türkiye from entrenching itself in Syria, strengthen its alliance with Greece and Greek Cyprus, and secure American support against Ankara.

On Friday evening, the Israeli military announced that it had targeted what it described as strategic military capabilities at Syrian army bases in the city of Palmyra and the T4 air base.

This comes as Israeli violations of Syrian sovereignty continue, even though the new administration, led by President Ahmad al Sharaa, hasn’t threatened Tel Aviv in any way.

For months, Israel has been launching airstrikes on Syria on an almost daily basis, killing civilians and destroying Syrian military sites, vehicles, and ammunition.