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US suspects Israeli attack on Syria may have been an attempt to provoke clash with Turkey

2026-08-23 23:10:41Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

US suspects Israeli attack on Syria may have been an attempt to provoke clash

An Israeli attack on a Syrian air base this week may have been a political attempt to "lure" Turkey into a conflict ahead of Israeli elections later this fall, a senior US diplomat said on Saturday.

The comments by Tom Barrack, Washington's ambassador to Ankara and special envoy for Syria, were the harshest US criticism yet of the Israeli attack on the Abu al-Duhur military base in northwestern Syria on Tuesday.

After the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the base was hit because of fears that Turkey would establish itself in the area and threaten Israel's security. Israeli analysts speculated that Turkey intended to deploy air defense radars and attack drones at the base.

In an interview on an online social media platform on Saturday, Barrack said the claims were unfounded, adding that there were no Turkish military assets in the country and that Ankara had no intention of stationing a base.

The US envoy suggested that Israel may have been "provoking the Turks" in a "very aggressive, but welcome, pre-election concept" ahead of the October general election, in which Netanyahu is trailing in the polls.

Immediately after the attack, Barrack had said that Ankara could have activated fighter jets to intercept the Israeli planes, risking an “unnecessary escalation.” On Saturday, he said that could have led to “World War III.”

In the same interview, Barrack added that a second theory for the Israeli attack could be a "miscommunication" between Netanyahu's office, the Israel Defense Forces and the country's intelligence service, Mossad.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz rejected Barrack's comments in a highly unusual statement released Saturday afternoon during the Jewish Sabbath.

He said the IDF had recommended on several occasions striking Abu al-Duhur "in light of clear intelligence information" that Turkey intended to "carry out operations" in that country.

Katz also claimed that the Syrian government had been given a “direct warning” and that the US had been informed in advance – something Barrack had denied.

“[Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan was caught with his hand in the cookie jar and forced to retreat,” Katz said, condemning what he claimed was an attempt to present the attack in a political light.

He also criticized Barrack's comments that the Golan Heights - which were captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed - were "occupied" Syrian territory, saying that US President Donald Trump had recognized Israeli sovereignty over the territory during his first term.

Turkey is one of the main supporters of the government of new Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former Islamist militant who led the rebel offensive that toppled dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Ankara has provided Damascus with military training, equipment and logistical support to rebuild state institutions destroyed by Syria's nearly 14-year civil war, which has left around half a million people dead.

But Israel sees Sharaa's government, which is dominated by his Islamist faction, as a threat. It has carried out extensive attacks on the country since Assad's overthrow, destroying much of the former regime's military infrastructure and occupying large swathes of southern Syria, calling it a "safe zone."

Turkey has kept thousands of troops in northern Syria after making several interventions during the civil war. Israel has objected to Turkey's creation of military infrastructure that could limit its freedom of action, particularly in Syrian airspace, the FT writes.

Abu al-Duhur air base is located about 70 km from the Turkish border, in northwestern Syria's Idlib province, which was a rebel stronghold during the civil war. It had been largely out of use for more than a decade but was in the process of being reactivated.

A Turkish delegation visited the facility to inspect the works just hours before the Israeli attacks, according to Turkish media.

Relations between Israel and Turkey, which has the second-largest army in NATO after the US, began to deteriorate significantly in 2024 due to Israel's war in Gaza, while Ankara suspended bilateral trade.

Since then, disagreements between them have escalated, especially on the issue of Syria.

As Israel carried out military operations in Syria and Lebanon in June, Erdoğan said that “Turkey’s security… starts from Aleppo, starts from Damascus, starts from Beirut.” He added: “We will not turn a blind eye to any attack against our brothers.”

Israel has increasingly presented Turkey's expanding role in the region as a security challenge in itself, while some Israeli politicians and analysts have even called Turkey "the new Iran."


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