Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a threat and a firm\nwarning to Turkey after striking an airbase in Idlib, Syria. He asserted\nthat Israel had sent a message to Turkey not to establish bases in\nSyria.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not tolerate Turkish military efforts to strengthen their\nposition southward, because that threatens us,\u201d Netanyahu said in an\nArmy Radio podcast.<\/p>\n
He said Israel had initially sent a message \u201cin general terms\u201d\nopposing the Turkish military presence at an airfield near Aleppo,\nlocated not far from the Turkish border.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems they did not hear it, so we made sure they understood it\nmore clearly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Netanyahu\u2019s comments came a day after his office did not explicitly\nacknowledge Israeli responsibility for the strike, but stated that\nTurkish forces had recently inspected the base and warned that Israel\nwould not tolerate the \u201cthreat\u201d posed by Turkey\u2019s presence there.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, US Ambassador to Turkey and\nspecial envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said the Israeli strike on the Abu\nal-Duhur airbase in Syria carried \u201ca real risk of rapid escalation into\ndirect military confrontation\u201d with both Turkey and Syria.<\/p>\n
Barrack told the Israeli newspaper that Turkish forces were unaware\nof any Israeli aircraft heading towards the Syrian base or the purpose\nof the movement.<\/p>\n
As a result, he said, they were \u201cpotentially prompted to deploy their\nown fighter jets believing they were under attack\u201d. \u201cYesterday\u2019s\nincident was serious and concerning. However, we are relieved that there\nwere no casualties and the situation did not deteriorate further,\u201d\nBarrack added.<\/p>\n
Israel confirmed it was behind the overnight airstrike targeting a\nSyrian military airbase \u2014 a location Israel claims was to be used by\nTurkey to deploy forces.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael and Syria had agreed on a status quo regarding security\nmatters, but Syria came close to breaching it by allowing Turkish forces\nto be stationed at an airbase near Aleppo,\u201d read a statement in English\nfrom the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister\u2019s Office stated that Israel \u201chas repeatedly warned\nSyria that such a deployment would threaten Israel\u2019s security.\u201d \u201cSyria\nchose to ignore these warnings,\u201d Netanyahu\u2019s office said, adding that\nIsrael \u201cwill not tolerate threats to its security, and would welcome a\nreturn to the status quo.\u201d<\/p>\n
In response, Ankara condemned the \u201creckless accusations levelled by\nthe Israeli Prime Minister\u2019s Office\u201d \u2014 as stated in a Turkish government\nstatement quoted by the state news agency Anadolu \u2014 and said the\naccusations were \u201caimed at legitimising Israel\u2019s illegal airstrikes\ntargeting Syria\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n
An unnamed Turkish official also denied to Axios that Ankara was\nseeking to establish a military presence at the Abu Duhur airbase in\nIdlib Province. \u201cThere is no Turkish presence at that airbase. Israel is\nfabricating pretexts to bomb neighbouring countries and destabilise the\nregion,\u201d the official asserted.<\/p>\n
The strike marked an extraordinary act of defiance by Israel towards\nthe United States, which is seeking to support the new Syrian government\nled by Ahmad Saraa, who is close to Turkey.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/netanyahu-admits-striking-base-in-syria-to-warn-turkey-1787190685", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }