Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz has warned Turkey against what he called “dangerous adventures” in Syria, addressing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan directly in Turkish in a message on X. Katz said Israel would not allow any actor to threaten its security and urged Erdoğan not to test Israel’s determination to defend itself.
Instead, Katz said, Erdoğan would be better advised to continue his “unrealistic and fanciful discourse against Israel” in the Turkish parliament rather than challenge Israel’s resolve.
The warning came after the Israeli military bombed a Syrian military airfield near the Turkish border on Tuesday. Syria’s Foreign Ministry and Turkey, which has maintained a military presence in northern and eastern Syria for years and has close ties with the leadership in Damascus, condemned the attack as a violation of Syrian sovereignty.
The dispute centres on competing claims over the purpose and potential expansion of Turkey’s military role in Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Syria of allowing Turkish forces to establish a presence at the military airfield near Aleppo that was targeted in the Israeli strike.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani rejected that suggestion, saying there was no intention to establish a permanent Turkish military presence at the airfield or station Turkish troops there. He also said there had been no Turkish military presence at the airport before the Israeli attack. Ankara likewise rejected Netanyahu’s allegations.
Israel’s warnings have become increasingly explicit. On Wednesday evening, Netanyahu said Israel would not tolerate an expansion of Turkey’s military presence in Syria “moving towards the south and threatening us”. He said Israel had delivered a message to Ankara: “Don’t!”
The wording echoed a warning issued by Joe Biden following the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. Biden had used the same expression to warn Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah against intervening in the war.
Netanyahu said in an interview that Israel appeared not to have been heeded. “So we made sure they understood it better,” he said, referring to the Israeli military action.
The exchange marks another escalation in relations between Israel and Turkey, which have been strained for years and have deteriorated further amid the Gaza war. Turkey maintains close political contacts with Hamas, while Erdoğan has repeatedly and sharply criticised Israel’s actions towards the Palestinians.
The confrontation over Syria adds another layer to those tensions, with both countries taking sharply opposing positions over the role of Turkish forces and the limits of Israeli military action. Katz’s decision to address Erdoğan directly in Turkish underlined the seriousness of Israel’s warning, while Netanyahu’s repeated use of the word “Don’t!” signalled that Jerusalem considers any expansion of Turkey’s military role in Syria a direct security concern.
