Israel’s Cold War With Turkey

Israel bombed an airfield in Syria overnight, August 18 to 19, but the real target was Turkey.

Turkey was about to deploy 200 troops and drones to the Abu Duhur airbase, Turkish media reported.

“We will not tolerate a Turkish military entrenchment in Syria that threatens Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu posted on X. “Apparently, they didn’t hear it clearly enough, so we made sure they understood it better.”

Iran is not Israel’s only enemy. Turkey played a key role in bringing the ex-Islamic State terrorist Ahmed al-Sharaa to power in Syria. Hamas moved its covert operations from Qatar to Turkey earlier this month and is therefore able to plot terror attacks against Israel while protected by nato’s mutual defense clause.

“Now [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan is nudging al-Sharaa, a former member of both al Qaeda and isis, into increasing hostility toward Israel,” wrote Melanie Phillips.

• Just this week, videos have emerged showing Syrian soldiers chanting death threats to Jews, including: “I am coming for you Jew … I will make your blood flow in rivers.”

Netanyahu is that rare leader who can see more than one threat at a time. He has warned for years about the anti-Israel terror network Iran has set up across the Middle East. He also sees that Turkey holds a similar hatred.

Donald Trump is not so clear-sighted: He has praised and worked with both Erdoğan and Sharaa, and is even letting Syria keep hold of dangerous nuclear material (see our main story for details).

A new alliance of Muslim nations is rising: Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defense agreement on August 7. Their foreign ministers will visit Egypt later this month to try to draw it in as well. Meanwhile, the Turkey’s chief of General Staff held calls with his Qatari and Omani counterparts.

• In contrast, Israel reached out to Turkey’s most reliable enemy. General Dimitrios Houpis, chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff, traveled to Israel this week to discuss military cooperation.

The Bible warns of a similar alliance: Psalm 83 describes a group of nations that includes Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which says: “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance” (verse 4). The Jews in the Middle East descended from just one of the tribes of ancient Israel, but they are one of the targets of this alliance.

Netanyahu sees the threat; America does not. To learn more, read “Another, More Mysterious Alliance.”