Dr. Edy Cohen claimed today (Thursday) in an interview with Tal Meir that Erdogan’s harsh statements against Israel stem from a growing sense of threat in Ankara in light of Israel’s regional strengthening. “Israel is indeed harming the national security of the Turks,” Cohen opened unexpectedly, explaining: “We bombed the bases they tried to establish in Syria several times. Some claim Turkish casualties were sustained and at least two bases were destroyed.” Cohen made it clear that he does not justify Ankara’s position, but believes it is important to understand the Turkish perspective: “I am not defending Erdogan, I am just giving the Israeli viewer the Turkish side — why he said what he said.”
He said that in recent years, Israel has established a series of regional alliances that worry Turkey. “The Turks feel that Israel is becoming too powerful. Israel has allied with Greece and Cyprus and with Somaliland. That stings.”
Cohen then provided a dramatic assessment of the day after the Iranian regime: “If the regime really falls in Iran, it will be Turkey’s loss. Turkey will become marginal. Israel will ally with the new government in Iran, and both Turkey and the Arab world will have lost entirely.”