Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday that Israel’s actions in Syria are part of its expansionist agenda.
His comments come after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not tolerate the new Syrian government’s forces being deployed south of Damascus.
“Netanyahu’s government and those who follow his agenda are using the current situation to further Israel’s expansionism,” Fidan said during a press briefing on Monday.
“The ongoing occupations in Lebanon and Syria, the provocation and attempted annexation of the West Bank, and the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza are all part of a dangerous plan.”
Fidan argued that Israel’s security policies rely on military aggression and external support. He said it doesn’t seek a two-state solution, instead focusing on irredentism and military aggression.
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“For many years, we have known that Israel has developed a project aimed at creating weakness and instability in neighbouring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria,” he said.
‘Israel has developed a project aimed at creating weakness and instability in neighbouring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria’
– Hakan Fidan, Turkish foreign minister
“Beyond this, it collaborates with the United States to prevent second-tier countries from acquiring military capabilities.”
The foreign minister warned that this approach is unsustainable and counterproductive, creating risks such as regional chaos and terrorism.
On Sunday, Netanyahu declared that Israel would not tolerate the presence of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) or any forces affiliated with Syria’s new rulers in southern Syria.
HTS, which grew out of a former al-Qaeda affiliate, seized control of Damascus on 8 December in a stunning offensive that ended Bashar al-Assad’s rule.
In response, Israel moved forces into a UN-controlled demilitarised zone and other areas of Syria, heightening tensions in the region.
“We will not allow forces of the HTS or the new Syrian army to enter the territory south of Damascus. We demand full demilitarisation of southern Syria, in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa, and Sweida,” Netanyahu said at a military graduation ceremony.
Syrians protest over Netanyahu’s call for a demilitarised south
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“And we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze sect in southern Syria.”
The Druze, an ethno-religious minority in both Syria and Israel, have increasingly been courted by the Israeli government, which has said it wants to make a “coalition of minorities”.
However Syrians across the south, including in Druze-majority Sweida province, have protested against the Israeli demands.
In December, the influentiual spiritual leader of Syria’s Druze, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, told Middle East Eye that he rejected Israel’s invasion of Syria and said his country needs to maintain its social and territorial unity.
Netanyahu framed Israel’s military presence as a defensive measure, saying that forces would remain in Syria for as long as necessary.
Israel has already occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967 and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognised under international law.
