The catch words are: “IF Israel respects Syria’s sovereignty.” Turkey, Qatar and Egypt have already accused Israel of “exploiting” the situation in Syria and violating its sovereignty, which is utter nonsense. Israel is not an expansionist country like Islamic nations. Jews are native to the region, and Israel merely seeks to protect its country from obliteration.
Netanyahu has stated that Israeli troops will “occupy a buffer zone inside Syria for the foreseeable future.” He has good reason for this, in light of the many attacks against Israel from these areas.
“Turkey’s FM Hakan Fidan: Israel Must Respect Syrian Sovereignty,” MEMRI, December 17, 2024:
On December 15, 2024, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan appeared on Al-Arabiya Network (Saudi Arabia) to discuss relations between Syria and Israel following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on December 8. Fidan questioned whether Israel had ever directly targeted Syria or if Syria had ever targeted Israel, emphasizing that Israeli military actions had primarily focused on Iran and its militias, with Assad’s government largely remaining on the sidelines.
Fidan recalled a meeting between then-Vice President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, where Biden conveyed that the U.S. did not seek to remove Assad. Fidan noted, however, that it was Israel’s interests being represented at the time, as Israel preferred Assad’s leadership despite concerns over Iranian influence in Syria.
Looking forward, Fidan expressed confidence that a new government in Syria would not clash with Israel, as long as Israel refrains from crossing Syria’s borders and respects its sovereignty. However, he cautioned that “other measures might be considered” if Israel fails to respect Syria’s sovereignty. Fidan also suggested that Israel’s military actions, including airstrikes, were likely driven by a desire to secure certain regions, but he deemed this behavior “unacceptable.” Finally, Fidan asserted that any government representing the will of the people would be seen as a threat by Israel….
Willem Zijlmans says
Turkey should take a good look at itself!!!
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Projection, as usual. There is only one country today disrespecting Syria’s sovereignty, and that is Turkey itself. Idlib is almost as much a part of Turkey as Hatay (where Antakya (Antioch) is). Turkey is freely bombing the Syrian Kurds as though that area is southeast Turkey. In fact, as Ben Shapiro and Caroline Glick both noted, Turkey has occupied some 8900 sq km of Syrian territory, in contrast to Israel, which has occupied some 230 sq km. Ankara is hardly the one to speak
The two reasons that the new Syrian government will not clash w/ Israel:
➤ Israel has already destroyed the entire Syrian military. The country that was a regional superpower under Hafez al Assad back in the 80s and 90s is today about as neutered as Iran has become after the Israeli bombing
➤ They’ve seen how Israel destroyed Hamas in Gaza, and has almost obliterated Hizbullah in South Lebanon, and that too w/ a hostile US government trying to hold them back. The new US government will be squarely on their side, so the fate of the HTS-led regime in Damascus would be even worse if they tried taking on Israel. They didn’t even bitch about Israel destroying the entire Syrian military last week, which they could have since they stood to inherit it
The biggest result of the developments of the last week is that Turkey and Israel now have a de-facto border along the Golan. President Trump in his press conference this week noted how Turkey is the one calling the shots in Syria. He ought to have his foreign policy and national security team take a comprehensive look at everything Turkey is doing, whether it’s via a vis Israel, Greece, Armenia, Cyprus, the Kurds, or even geopolitically, in Libya, Algeria, Pakistan, Malaysia, et al. This country has been described as a frenemy by some analysts, but even that is too generous a description of that country. After China, it’s our #2 adversary on the world stage, ahead of both Russia and Iran
James Hoagland says
Just to point out that Syria was carved out of the deceased Ottoman Empire and boundaries were set arbitrarily to suit the colonial appetites of mainly France and England. Like Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon Syria was not a cohesive entity, not a nation but simply a geopolitical concoction. The only nation in this region were the Hebrews, Jews, Israel. The others are tribes and are better to be formed as emirates as more suitable to their ethnic identity. Turkey clearly wants to reestablish the empire but even most of the Turks don’t support this. Megalomania lives on!
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I think there is evidence of your last statement. Turks like to have their own Turkic club, and would like something w/ just themselves and the -stans. On social media, I have seen examples of Pakistanis expressing a desire to be a part of that fraternity, since the Mughals, who they look at as one of their historic ancestors, were Turkic, but since Pakistanis themselves aren’t ethically Turkic, those sentiments are rebuffed by most Turks. Essentially, they do not seem to share Erdogan’s megalomaniacal ambitions
James Hoagland says
I find agreement with much of what you have written. My mother use to call me a natural born rebel so I personally like the name Infidel. It’s just that some of us have no patience for b.s. and have the audacity to put it in writing.
memi says
You have some very astute observations here! President Trump’s new Team’s geopolitical proclivities appear to be somewhat opposed to Pres. Trump’s early assessment {if not stated ironically} of “smart politician Erdogan who wanted to (occupy Syrian lands) for thousands of years so let him go ahead”.! I just can’t see Sen Rubio and/or Lt.Col. Gabbard or most of the rest of his team agreeing with his early projections for “ally” Turkey’s strongman.
somehistory says
Dictator…wants to make other nations follow whatever turkey decides.
Hypocrisy….he’s not keeping out of Syria’s business.
Hypocrisy is the rule for mozlums to follow….they lie, they insult, they scream abuse and hate and threats, and follow through on the threats. and then whine and complain, cry and lie about others who don’t want them near.
Bexarkat says
“Sovereignty” likely includes the Golan Heights…
Billy says
Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the 50+ Islamic are Terrorist States against Israel, American, and all Non-Muslims. Moreover, Islam is a deceitful, totalitarian, terrorist, pedophilic Criminal Gang Enterprise against all Non-Muslims by using discrimination, deception, hatred, rape, murder, and violence to gain ultimate power and control as taught in Islamic Law and in Islam’s Quran. Furthermore, Islam’s supremacist-genocidal Ideology, its intolerant Muslims, its propaganda Schools, its foreign terrorist Organizations, and its ‘Convert-or-Die’ Mosques fund, teach, inspire, and promote ‘Threats and Incitement of Violence’ as well as never-ending terrorism, loathing, and segregation against women, children, and all Non-Muslims(eg. Quran 2:191-3; 4:65, 89, 100; 5:14,82; 8:65; 9:5,14-15,29,111; 33:26; 47:4; 65:4; 98:6-7 and more).
mgoldberg says
As for taking over some adjacent territory in Syria to protect Israel from the new sunni jihadists- the Druze who occupy the land in the neighboring land, have asked to be apart of Israel to protect themselves from the lovely new would be sunnin jihadists who would love to subjugate the Druze population but good.
The Istanbulian says
The only way fidan can speak for the Syrian government is if the Turkish government is occupying syria
I guess the Kurds would stop attacking turkey if turkey recognized and respected their sovereignty
James Hoagland says
The standard Islamic faint and shimmy; an attempt to sound reasonable and act as an innocent in an unjust world. Projecting their internal feud between Sunni and Shia the perpetual victim lays his deceptive, duplicitous mind trap to suck in the unwary. Standard, old fashion logic and reason, philosophy 101, 102 introductory courses are enough to lay bare this anti-intellectual, ideological and ultimately demonic diatribe!
skeptiker says
Herr Erdogan, warum treten sie nicht aus der NATO aus ? Was hält sie in diesem Klub der Ungläubigen ? Ist es das Know-How, die Professionalität, die ihre Glaubensgemeinschaft nicht zu bieten hat ?
memi says
Hakan Fidan, the butcher ex-chief of MIT, Turkey’s secret service responsible for the extermination of Kurds and Christians in the Middle East and Asia (and democratic Turkish citizens in U.S.), threatens to clash with Israel unless “Israel respects Syria’s sovereignty.” Amazing audacity!
WHO should respect Syria’s sovereignty? Turkey’s genocidal jihadist proxies that have invaded Syria with thousands of Al-Qaeda/ISIS/Muslim Bros (and residual Hamas) terrorists who were “given” “Syrian passports” by the new “government”?
The current Al-Jalani & Erdgoan Alliance does not represent the Syrian people and its minorities. The regime is not a legitimate government of Syria and Turkey has no legal right to threaten Israel and at the same time exterminate Kurds in Manbij and drive them out of their region in the north, while discriminating against Christians and Druzes with orders such as “no Christmas celebrations; no wearing of Crosses:, and desecrating Christian churches.
Israel’s real threat is not coming from Egypt or the Gulf countries but from the expansionist Islamofascist “ally” Turkey that orchestrated the rape of Syria for its future “March to Jerusalem” and “destruction of Israel” as Erdogan promised his Islamist followers before he unleashed the jackals onto the people of Syria.
Assad will be “Mother Teresa” compared to what is forthcoming in Syria by Turkey’s proxy-jihadists from Chesnea, Uyghurs and assorted butchers trained in Syria’s Idlib (while Biden slept) under MIT’s ex-head Hakan Fidan who now feels he can threaten Israel!
Israel should protect the Kurds, advance to Damascus, question the legitimacy of the jihadist regime and under no condition permit Erdogan to commit a third genocide in Syria’s north–the Kurds’ autonomous region threatened by a massacre of its population and Turkey’s annexation.