Israel-Turkey Tensions: Israel’s airstrike on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur airbase this week came close to a direct clash with Turkey. Turkish forces in the area had received no warning. Israeli jets were heading towards the airbase, and Turkish forces had no information about the incoming aircraft. In absence of the prior notice, they could have scrambled fighter jets if they believed they were under attack.
In November 2015, a Russian Su-24 bomber operating near the Turkish-Syrian border was shot down by a Turkish F-16. Ankara said the Russian aircraft had entered its airspace and that it had issued 10 warnings within five minutes. President Ahmed al-Sharaa came to power in 2024 and has worked to bring former armed groups into a single state military while establishing relations with other countries.
Because turkey and Israel have different plans for Syria, the incident is important.
Moscow rejected the claim and said the bomber had not left Syrian airspace. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the downing of the aircraft as a “stab in the back”. Tel Aviv wants to keep Turkish military equipment away from areas where its forces operate. Ankara is supporting Syria’s new government and wants to help rebuild its military. Israel carried out strikes on the airbase in Syria this week. The attack came days after Mossad chief Roman Gofman spoke with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani about Turkish military activity in Syria. The incident became one of the most serious military confrontations between a NATO country and Russia in decades. Israel wants an airspace around its operations and has opposed the deployment of Turkish weapons and air-defence systems close to areas where Israeli aircraft operate. Ankara has been supporting Syria’s new administration and wants to help rebuild the country’s military institutions. The Syrian government is also trying to rebuild its armed forces after years of civil war. The footage was presented as a response to the Gaza war. It also shows the difficulty facing the Syrian government as it tries to bring different armed groups into a unified national military.
Relations between Moscow and Ankara suffered for months after the incident before the two countries began repairing ties.
