Netanyahu: Israel sent ‘clear warning’ to Ankara, Damascus over Turkish military presence in Syria

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel had sent Turkey a warning against establishing a military base in Syria, implicitly acknowledging that Israel carried out a strike the previous day.

In an interview on an army radio podcast, Netanyahu said: “We will not allow a Turkish military deployment that extends southwards, because it poses a threat to us.”

He said Israel had initially sent a message in “general terms” opposing a Turkish military presence at the Abu al-Duhur airbase near Aleppo, not far from the Turkish border.

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“They apparently did not hear it, so we made sure they understood it more clearly,” he added.

Netanyahu’s office declined on Tuesday to confirm that Israel was responsible for the strike, but said Turkish forces had recently inspected the base, warning that Israel would not tolerate any “threat” resulting from a Turkish presence there.

US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also responsible for the Syria file, blamed Israel for the attack and condemned it.

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