For a decade, Turkey has maintained a military presence in northern Syria, with Ankara framing the occupation as necessary to protect its border from the Islamic State and Kurdish militants it considers linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Israel’s strikes last week on a military airport in northwestern Syria, however, signaled that Jerusalem increasingly sees Turkey’s military presence not simply as a feature of the Syrian conflict, but as a potential threat to Israel itself.

In the early hours of August 18, Israel carried out a series of eight airstrikes on the runway of the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Idlib, causing damage but no casualties, according to Syria.

“Israel and Syria agreed to a status quo in security matters, which Syria was on the verge of breaching by permitting Turkish troops to deploy at an airbase near Aleppo,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in an English-language statement explaining the strikes.

Damascus swiftly condemned the attack, calling it an “unjustified act of aggression.” Ankara did as well, while denying plans to deploy military assets there.

The fallout quickly reached Washington, where US envoy Tom Barrack said the strikes “constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.”

The ambassador cast doubt on Israel’s claim that Turkey was moving military assets into Syria’s northwestern Abu al-Duhur military airport, saying US intel did not indicate such activity.

Israel, for its part, alleged that Syria had approved the shipment of unspecified military equipment from Turkey to the airbase, even after Mossad chief Roman Gofman reportedly warned Syrian Foreign Minister Asad Hassan al-Sheibani against such a move.

A senior military source told Zman Yisrael, The Times of Israel’s sister Hebrew website, that the shipment consisted of several drones, while the Kan public broadcaster reported that it was a radar system.

Whatever the shipment contained, the Israeli decision to use force raised a broader question: Why had this particular Turkish deployment in northern Syria suddenly become a red line for Jerusalem?

Turkey’s deep roots in northern Syria

The Turkish Armed Forces have occupied areas of northern Syria since August 2016, when they launched Operation Euphrates Shield. In the years that followed, Turkey played an active role in the Syrian civil war, supporting Syrian opposition forces against now-ousted president Bashar al-Assad and backing the Syrian National Army.

Turkey’s unwavering support for Syrian dissidents and its decision to welcome Syrian refugees during the civil war created a close relationship between the two nations that has only gained greater prominence as Syria seeks to rebuild and establish itself as a stable, unified state after nearly 14 years of internal conflict.

The current Syrian government’s appreciation for Turkey, coupled with Ankara’s willingness to aid Damascus in its military buildup, leaves “room for Turkey to operate” within Syria, according to Gallia Lindenstrauss, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies.

Still, she emphasized that Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is “not a puppet of Turkey,” and has sought to balance Ankara’s........

© The Times of Israel