Netanyahu defends strike in Syria as Israel’s top general issues veiled threat to Turkey
Netanyahu defends strike in Syria as Israel’s top general issues veiled threat to Turkey
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We heard more from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday about an Israeli strike on a military air base in Syria.
Netanyahu defended the strike, once again asserting that Turkey — a NATO ally of the US that is one of Israel’s top regional adversaries — was intent on deploying forces there.
“We will not tolerate a Turkish military buildup that is going down south and threatens us. We clarified that in general,” Netanyahu said in a video released by his Likud party. “Then we saw that there is a Turkish intention to deploy in an air base south of its line, close to Aleppo, and we conveyed a message.”
“How will I describe it?” he continued, adding that the message was: “Don’t.”
The Trump administration’s Syria envoy, Tom Barrack, criticized Israel’s actions on Tuesday as an “unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”
Turkey rejected Netanyahu’s claims as “untenable,” pointing to the upcoming October elections in Israel as the reason for what it said was his “intent to pursue expansionist and destabilizing policies in the region.”
But on Wednesday, Israel’s military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, issued a veiled warning to Turkey as he met with Israeli troops in Syria. “We must prevent the development of terrorist threats, while also preventing the formation of a significant military threat on our borders,” Zamir said.
He did not explicitly mention Turkey in his comments. “We know how to use our operational capabilities precisely, where and when needed,” Zamir added.