US Envoy Says Israel Struck Syria Base 70km From Turkey to Stoke Election Tensions
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Aug 22
US Envoy Says Israel Struck Syria Base 70km From Turkey to Stoke Election Tensions
3 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Aug 22
Summary
Tom Barrack said Israel’s Tuesday strike on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur air base may have been meant to bait Turkey into a clash before Israel’s October election, when Benjamin Netanyahu is trailing in polls.
Barrack said there were no Turkish military assets at the base and no plan for Ankara to move in, rejecting Netanyahu’s claim that the site threatened Israeli security.
He warned Turkey could have scrambled jets to intercept Israeli warplanes after the raid, a step he said might have triggered “World War Three,” and floated miscommunication inside Israel as another possible explanation.
Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz rejected the accusation, saying intelligence showed Turkey planned operations at the base, claiming Washington was informed in advance and that Syria had received a direct warning.
The clash underscores deepening Israel-Turkey friction over post-Assad Syria, where Ankara backs Ahmed al-Sharaa’s government and Israel has expanded strikes and occupied parts of the south.