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MembersDanger looms from the north! Israel’s new concern is called Turkey!

The growing Turkish influence in Syria is alarming Jerusalem. More and more Israelis see Ankara as a strategic threat that could lead to a direct military confrontation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (r.) and Syria's transitional president Ahmed al-Sharaa at a meeting in Ankara, February 4, 2025. Photo: EPA/NECATI SAVAS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (r.) and Syria's transitional president Ahmed al-Sharaa at a meeting in Ankara, February 4, 2025. Photo: EPA/NECATI SAVAS

Israel’s kings and prophets always had to keep a watchful eye on which great power was rising to the north, which alliances were forming, and which foreign armies were approaching the country’s borders. Those who only took the danger seriously once the enemy stood before Jerusalem had, strategically speaking, already lost.

That is precisely why Israel today should be paying careful attention to the north. Not because Turkish tanks will be stationed on the Golan Heights tomorrow, nor because Ankara has already become a second Tehran. But because something fundamental is changing right on Israel’s doorstep: Turkey — a NATO member, a regional power, and a political supporter of Hamas — is expanding its influence in the new Syria.

At the same time, the interests of Jerusalem and Ankara are becoming increasingly opposed. The Israeli public has apparently grasped this. 68 percent of Israelis now regard Turkey as a serious security threat — among Jewish Israelis, the figure rises to 77 percent. And yet Ankara still ranks well below Iran and Hamas in public perception. A new survey by...

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Patrick Callahan

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