Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the possibility of military confrontation between Israel and Turkey, and revealed that Israel has already acted to prevent the expansion of Turkish military presence in Syria.
Netanyahu also discussed the close relationship between U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, acknowledging it’s one of the issues where he and the American president disagree. “One of the things Trump and I don’t agree on is Turkey,” Netanyahu said, referring to the gap in positions between him and the U.S. president.
1+When asked about the possibility of direct military confrontation between Israel and Turkey, the prime minister responded: “I hope we don’t reach a head-on confrontation. That’s what I’m trying to avoid, at least.” But alongside his desire to avoid direct conflict, Netanyahu revealed that Israel has already taken steps on the ground to prevent the expansion of Turkish military presence in Syria. “Turkey wanted to expand their deployment from northern Syria into an air base. We prevented that, we acted,” the prime minister said.
This is a significant statement, indicating that Israel isn’t merely monitoring Turkish entrenchment in Syria but is willing to act to block moves it sees as threats to its security interests. However, Netanyahu didn’t detail what action Israel took, when it occurred, or which air base was involved.
The reference to Turkey is particularly interesting amid Netanyahu’s new security doctrine. The document emphasizes the need to shift from containment and defense to prevention and offense, while cultivating initiative, deception, and readiness for a preemptive surprise strike.
1+One of the central principles in the document is achieving continuous intelligence on the enemy’s capabilities and intentions, alongside willingness to act proactively to prevent the development of security threats. The doctrine also emphasizes the need to establish Israel’s position as a regional power and expand its strategic alliances.
However, Turkey is not mentioned by name in the security doctrine document. Netanyahu’s statements about Israeli activity in Syria may align with the principle of threat prevention that appears in it, but the document contains no explicit reference to the possibility of war with Turkey.