Israel is seeking international support following the bombing of a base in Syria — which led to a confrontation with Turkey and drew condemnation from the U.S. envoy as well. Doron Spielman, spokesman for the Prime Minister’s Office’s public diplomacy team, released a video Friday evening presenting Israel’s operation in Syria as an effort to thwart a Turkish military buildup and ensure that the threat does not gradually move closer to Israel’s border.
The Prime Minister’s Office spokesman’s video
(Prime Minister’s Office)
According to Spielman, who was appointed to his position less than two months ago and is intended to be “the face of Israel to the world,” Turkey has established a significant military presence in Syria since the country’s civil war and currently controls, he claimed, about 5% of its territory.
By contrast, he said, Israel holds approximately one-tenth of 1% in southern Syria, “along a border that has threats from Hezbollah and ISIS and other terror organizations. Which means that Turkey, that has no threats, is holding 50 times more Syrian territory than Israel.”
“More than a year ago, Israel and Syria reached an understanding to maintain the security status quo and to keep this border calm,” Spielman said. According to him, Syria breached that understanding after Israeli intelligence identified that Turkish troops were about to deploy at the Abu al-Dahour airbase in northern Syria, less than 200 miles from Israeli towns and communities.
Gallery
The distance from the base to the Israeli border. 'We will not allow Turkey to advance south toward us'
(Photo: Prime Minister’s Office)
“Prime Minister Netanyahu made Israel’s position very clear,” he said. “We will not allow Turkey to entrench itself in Syria and to be moving steadily south toward Israel’s border.”
According to Spielman, Israel repeatedly warned Syria: “Don’t do it. We know that Syria received those warnings and that it chose to ignore them.” He said that Israel therefore “delivered the message in another way.”
Later in the video, the prime minister’s spokesman addressed the question of why a Turkish presence in Syria should concern Israel.
“Now, some might ask, why should Israel be concerned about Turkish forces in Syria?” he said. “Well, because Turkish President Erdogan has openly called for Israel’s destruction.”
He added that Erdogan has also spoken negatively about the United States, Israel’s closest partner, saying: “A just world is possible, but not with America.”
“Is this the kind of guy you would want on your border?” Spielman asked.
According to Spielman, the events of Oct. 7 demonstrated the danger of ignoring statements made by enemies.
Netanyahu and Erdogan
(Photo: AP/Yuki Iwamura, Kawnat HAJU / AFP, REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool)
“And Oct. 7 made it clear to everyone,” he said. “When your enemy tells you that he wants to destroy you, you should probably believe him.”
Alongside the harsh statements against Ankara, the spokesman emphasized Prime Minister Netanyahu’s position that Israel does not want an escalation.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has also made something else very clear. Israel welcomes a return to the previous status quo. We are not looking for escalation,” he said. “But neither Turkey nor any other country is going to threaten the State of Israel.”
The unusual strike prompted an exceptional U.S. condemnation. Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy to Syria and Turkey, said that such strikes “could increase the Turkish presence in the region in the near future” and said Turkey had not been warned in advance and therefore could have attacked Israel in response.
The deterioration in relations with Turkey came almost immediately. Netanyahu told the Turks, “Don’t.” They announced that they had issued an arrest warrant and a “red notice” against the prime minister, and he called Erdogan an “antisemitic dictator.” On Friday evening, the Turkish presidency said that “the Netanyahu government’s efforts to portray Turkey as a new threat are part of its election strategy.”