Istanbul: An Israeli airstrike on Hamas leaders in Doha has set off alarm bells in Turkey. Officers in Ankara consider the identical playbook may attain Turkish soil.
Turkish Protection Ministry spokesman Rear Adm. Zeki Aktürk warned on Thursday, “Israel would additional broaden its reckless assaults, because it did in Qatar, and drag the whole area, together with its personal nation, into catastrophe.”
Israel carried out the assault on Doha, in territory lengthy seen as protected floor, on Tuesday.
Turkey On Edge
The strike unsettled Ankara. Turkey has a protracted document of backing the Palestinian trigger. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan maintains open traces with Hamas. Some Hamas leaders reside in Turkey. Others use its territory for conferences. Israel has accused Turkey of permitting Hamas to recruit and fundraise inside its borders.
The connection between Ankara and Jerusalem has been fraught for greater than a decade. As soon as shut companions, the international locations break up throughout the late 2000s. The rift deepened after October 7, 2023, when Hamas fighters stormed Israel, killed about 1,200 individuals and seized 251 hostages.
Erdoğan has by no means held again his phrases. He has accused Israel of genocide. He has in contrast Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler and vowed to face by Hamas as an emblem of Turkish resolve.
Erdogan is presently attending an Arab and Muslim leaders’ summit in Qatar. The summit responds to Israel’s strike in Doha.
Analysts See Larger Sample
Regional observers concern the Qatar strike units a precedent. “Israel’s capability to conduct strikes with seeming impunity, usually bypassing regional air defenses and worldwide norms, units a precedent that deeply worries Ankara,” they mentioned.
They described the strikes as a part of a broader plan. Israel, in line with them, goals to create “a fragmented buffer zone of weak or pacified states round it”.
Different voices warned of potential smaller assaults. It mentioned an Israeli airstrike on the territory of a NATO member can be extraordinarily unlikely. Nonetheless, small-scale bomb or gun assaults on potential Hamas targets in Turkey by Israeli brokers may very well be a definite chance.
Regional Fallout
Israel has already struck Iran, Syria and Yemen. Now Qatar has joined the record. Ankara fears Turkey might face stress as properly.
Turkey, not like Qatar, sits inside NATO. It instructions one of many largest militaries within the alliance, second solely to the US. Its protection business has superior quickly.
Erdogan has elevated missile manufacturing. He unveiled the “Metal Dome” air protection system final month. Work on the KAAN fifth-generation fighter has accelerated.
The analysts mentioned the strike in Doha might push Ankara nearer to Hamas. “This resonates with Turkish anxieties that Israel might finally lengthen such operations to Turkish territory. The Turkish authorities calculates that abandoning Hamas now would weaken its regional affect, whereas standing agency bolsters its function as a defender of Palestinian causes in opposition to Israeli aggression,” they mentioned.
Flashpoints In Syria
Consultants consider Syria may very well be the true flashpoint. “To suppose that concentrating on Turkish troops or Turkish allies or proxies in Syria can be to go too far is wishful pondering,” they mentioned.
Syrian rebels toppled Bashar al-Assad final December. Ankara backed the rebels. Israel distrusted them. Israel seized a U.N.-monitored buffer zone in southern Syria and launched a whole lot of airstrikes on Syrian navy websites. It offered itself as a protector of the Druze minority in opposition to Sunni authorities in Damascus.
Sectarian clashes in Sweida province escalated tensions. Druze in Israel urged intervention. Israel responded with airstrikes. Jerusalem demanded Syrian authorities withdraw.
The violence echoed massacres of Alawites by safety forces, the sect that after shaped Assad’s base.
Jap Mediterranean Dangers
The dispute might not keep inside Syria. Tensions may spill into the Mediterranean. Israel may tighten hyperlinks with Greece and Greek Cypriots. Such a transfer would immediately problem Turkey’s maintain over northern Cyprus.
Ankara Balances Struggle And Diplomacy
Turkey has been constructing defenses and taking part in diplomacy. Turkish and Israeli officers met in April. They mentioned a “de-escalation mechanism” for Syria. The talks adopted Israeli strikes on a Syrian airbase that Turkey deliberate to make use of. Netanyahu known as such bases a “hazard to Israel”.
Final month, Ankara and Damascus signed an settlement. Turkey pledged coaching and recommendation for Syrian armed forces.
Erdogan counts on Washington to maintain Israel in verify. Netanyahu has sought U.S. backing. However President Donald Trump praised Erdogan for “taking on Syria” and informed the Israeli prime minister to behave “fairly”.
The Qatar strike has shaken that confidence. “It confirmed there was no restrict to what the Israeli authorities can do,” the observers mentioned.