Trump’s Envoy Fires on Israel: Occupies the Golan and Provokes Turkey into War
As hostility between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaches a new, more complex stage, US envoy to Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack issued an unprecedented warning to Israel against the dangers of being drawn into a direct military confrontation with Turkey. He also leveled a rare US criticism against Israel for occupying the Golan Heights in violation of United Nations resolutions and international law.
Barrack warned that Israeli airstrikes on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Idlib on the 18th could lead to regional escalation, describing the flight of aircraft in the border area without prior notification or agreement as a “dangerous game.”
He revealed that the intelligence on which Israel relied for the strike on the Abu al-Duhur base near the Turkish border was incorrect. He explained that Israel had informed the US administration about six days before the raid of a possible Turkish transfer of military assets to the base. Washington verified the information through its own intelligence agencies, concluding that the claim was false. Barrack also suggested there may have been shortcomings in information sharing between the Israeli military, Mossad, and the Prime Minister’s Office.
The US envoy further suggested that Israel may have attempted to provoke Turkey or test its reaction through the strike, warning that such a move could have pushed the two countries into a direct confrontation.
He stated that the Turkish leadership, headed by President Erdogan, is focusing on restraint and does not wish to attack Israel or enter into a military or hostile confrontation with it.
Regarding the Golan file, Barrack explicitly affirmed that “Israelis still occupy the Golan Heights in violation of UN resolutions and the international system,” emphasizing that it is Syrian land under international law and UN resolutions.
In response, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz attacked the US envoy, asserting that his statements were “full of fallacies and positions that contradict President Donald Trump’s own stance on the Golan Heights.”
Katz defended the targeting of the Abu al-Duhur base, stating that the military had repeatedly recommended carrying it out, and the decision was made after consultations with Netanyahu and issuing a direct warning to Damascus.
Katz added that “Israel informed the United States of its information regarding Turkish movements, and that it will not allow any party to endanger its security, and will act to confront any threat as it did in southern Syria today,” referring to the new Israeli strike launched yesterday on the Beit Jinn area south of Damascus, which resulted in one Syrian injury. Damascus considered it a “blatant violation of sovereignty.”
Concurrently, an Israeli security official revealed that the establishment of Turkish bases in Syria represents a “red line” for Israel, warning against the creation of a Turkish military presence under the guise of training and developing the Syrian army. Israeli strikes in southern Syria continued, with one person injured yesterday after an Israeli drone targeted a car in the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside.
Tensions between Ankara and Tel Aviv escalated further as Turkey requested the issuance of international “red notices” for the arrest of Netanyahu, following an investigation into the interception of the “Respect Fleet” heading to Gaza. The two sides exchanged accusations amid US warnings that the escalating tensions in Syria could turn into a broader confrontation.
