Washington Warns of Military Confrontation Between Turkey and Israel in Syria

Washington, DC – Agencies: U.S. Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack warned that Israel’s bombing of Abu al-Duhur airfield in Idlib signals the prospect of a direct military confrontation between Israel and Turkey. (See page 13) Channel 15 in Israel quoted Barrack yesterday as saying, “We were one step away from a direct military confrontation between Turkey and Israel.” Barrack, who also serves as the U.S. ambassador to Turkey, told Reuters that Ankara had not received prior notice of the Israeli strike, and thus observed aircraft heading north toward its territory, which could have reasonably prompted Turkey to prepare its own response. Israeli warplanes bombed the runway of Abu al-Duhur military airfield in eastern Idlib countryside on Tuesday. In two identical letters to the United Nations and the Security Council, the Syrian government stated that continued Israeli aggression—through bombing, incursions, and kidnappings—undermines stability efforts and threatens the region with further tension. Yesterday, Axios reported that U.S. and Israeli officials said Israel informed the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump that its latest strike on the Syrian airbase aimed to prevent the reinforcement of any Turkish military presence in the area. The Turkish presidency, in a statement, refuted claims made by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and affirmed that Turkey would not under any circumstances allow the destabilization of Syria.