F-35: Türkiye Requests, Israel Attacks…

Relations between Israel and Türkiye remain extremely tense. Following Iran’s footsteps, Sunni Türkiye is becoming the main geopolitical adversary of the Jewish state in the Middle East.

Syria Strikes: Signal to Ankara

Although the damage inflicted is significant, the primary purpose of the raid was political: it served as a public warning to Türkiye against the deployment of its airbases and air-defense systems near Israel’s borders. The timing of the attack was not accidental, coinciding with a visit by a Turkish military delegation to Syria. This was the result of effective work by Israeli intelligence.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed the strike, justifying it as a preventive measure. According to Tel Aviv, the Syrian authorities had planned to undermine the “status quo” by making the Abu al-Duhur base available to Turkish forces. Official Damascus and Ankara deny these accusations, insisting that the Turkish delegation’s visit was purely consultative in nature and aimed at personnel training.

Reaction and Risk of Escalation

The international reaction followed immediately. Türkiye and Syria condemned the airstrikes as a violation of international law. The United States, which Israel had notified in advance, described its ally’s actions as an “unnecessary escalation.” US Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack, according to Kan News, stressed that the incident created a real risk of a direct military clash. Turkish forces, unaware of the true objectives of the Israeli aircraft, were prepared to scramble their fighter jets.

According to milliyet.com.tr, Turkish radars detected the Israeli planes 70 km from the border. Ankara scrambled fighters on alert but did not engage, seeking to avoid a direct conflict with a key US ally. This incident has called into question the viability of the recently signed........

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