The eventual exit of the al-Assad regime from Syria more than a decade after the initiation of the Washington-backed “regime change” offensive has opened a new front of geopolitical rivalry between Israel and Turkey.

Turkey vs. Israel

Both Israel and Turkey have benefitted from the fall of al-Assad. While Israel wanted al-Assad’s exit to disrupt Iran’s ability to arm Hezbollah via Syria against Israel, Turkey always saw al-Assad as a stumbling block against Ankara’s ambition to decimate Kurdish resistance groups. Now that Turkey-backed Islamists are in power, the ability of Kurdish groups to militarily push against Turkey may have weakened. Israel, on the other hand, has always maintained cordial ties with the Kurds. Therefore, Turkey’s moves against Kurds go against Israeli interests.

At the same time, the fact that Islamists, otherwise internationally designated as terrorists, have taken over Syria at a time when Israel is involved in a genocidal war on Palestine, Israel has every reason to react to this development with a lot of apprehension. It is for this reason that it has not only launched land incursions into Syria to (permanently) occupy the Golan Heights and create a large buffer zone, but has also conducted a very large number of air strikes in Syria.

Just a few weeks before the fall of al-Assad, the Turkish president

© New Eastern Outlook