Israeli defense minister puts NATO power on notice as Middle East tensions surge: ‘Dangerous adventures’

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Trump’s Turkey stance sparks concern amid NATO summit, Netanyahu warning

Amidst the NATO summit, President Donald Trump asserts the U.S.relationship with Turkey is ‘better than it’s ever been’ despite F-35 concerns.However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns Turkey supports Hamas.Wall Street Journal’s Olivia Beavers details Republican discomfort with Trump’s stance, noting backchannel pushback against potentially shifting the Middle East’s balance of power.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz issued a stark warning toTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğanearly Thursday, accusing him of dragging Turkey into “dangerous adventures in Syria” and warning the Turkish leader not to test Israel’s resolve.

“Israel will not allow any actor to threaten its security,”Katz wrote on X.“It would be better for Erdoğan to continue his detached-from-reality, fanciful rhetoric against Israel in the Turkish Grand National Assembly than to attempt to test Israel’s determination to defend itself.”

The warning comes two days after Israel struck Syria’s Abu al-Duhur Airbase.The increasingly heated rhetoric has put Washington in the position of trying to contain tensions between Turkey, a NATO member, and Israel, Washington’s closest security partners in the Middle East.Israel said Syria was on the verge of breaching a security understanding by allowing Turkish troops to deploy there, while Ankara rejected Israel’s account.

Syria said there were no plans for a permanent Turkish base or troop deployment, although Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani acknowledged that Turkish military officers had visited the facility for training and exchanges of expertise.Turkey’s Defense Ministry said no Turkish military delegation was present at the base before or during the strike,Reuters reported.

CRITICS SAY TURKEY’S VERBAL ATTACKS ON ISRAEL HAVE CROSSED INTO ANTISEMITISM

craters on the runways of Abu al-Duhur airbase, Syria

A satellite image shows craters on the runways of Abu al-Duhur Airbase near Syria’s Aleppo after an Israeli attack, August 19, 2026.(Pleiades Neo © Airbus DS 2026/Handout via Reuters)

On Wednesday, Turkey called these allegations from Israel “untenable,” arguing that they are “intended to legitimize Israel’s unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.… The imputations voiced stem from Netanyahu’s intent to pursue expansionist and destabilizing policies in the region ahead of the elections in Israel,” Turkey’s government said in a social media post.

U.S.Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Reuters Thursday that Washington was working on “a de-escalation process” that was already in place but still needed to be refined.Asked whether the dispute could lead to a direct Israeli-Turkish confrontation, Huckabee said, “I don’t think we’re even close to that.” He said Israel viewed Turkey as “moving further south” in Syria and perceived that as potentially threatening.

U.S.Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for SyriaTom Barracksounded a sharper warning after the strike.Barrack said Turkey had received no advance notice and could have prepared a military response after detecting Israeli aircraft heading north toward Turkish territory.He said Washington was working to establish a more robust deconfliction mechanism among Turkey, Israel and Syria to prevent miscalculation or an accidental confrontation.

FORMER SYRIAN PRESIDENT ASSAD SENTENCED TO DEATH IN ABSENTIA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a meeting.(GPO)

“Turkey is chalking up the increasingly escalatory climate between Turkey and Israel to election antics/propaganda by Netanyahu and driving a narrative that Israel does not want stable neighbors and regional powers in the Middle East,” Ciddi said.

At the same time, Ciddi said Erdoğan “seems intent on taking actions inside Syria that are perceived by Israel as military escalation,” citing proposed arms sales, military training and assistance, continued Turkish influence over former militia members integrated into Syria’s new army and, most significantly, “developing military bases with Turkish troops and sensitive equipment.”

“Israel established clear red lines about what it was willing to tolerate in Syria,” Ciddi said.“Deconfliction only works if parties implement the agreed upon rules.”

NETANYAHU WARNS TURKEY SHOULD NOT GET F-35S, CITING ERDOĞAN’S HOSTILITY TOWARD NATO ALLIES

Syria's president Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan

Syria’s president Ahmed al-Sharaa and Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdoğan attend a joint press conference at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, February 4, 2025.(Cagla Gurdogan/Reuters)

The dispute was already being discussed at senior levels before the strike.Mossad chief Roman Gofman spoke with al-Shaibani on Aug.14, four days before the attack, according to three sourcescited by Reuters.The conversation focused on Israel’s concerns about Turkey’s military presence in Syria, including potential troop deployments, weapons sales and drones supplied to the Syrian military.

Attempts to prevent anIsraeli-Turkish clashare not new.Turkey and Israel began technical talks in Azerbaijan in 2025 aimed at preventing misunderstandings or military incidents in Syria.Turkey’s defense minister said in June 2025 that those contacts were continuing as Ankara trained and advised Syria’s military.

Ciddi argued that a mechanism alone would not prevent further Israeli action if Ankara continued pushing against what Jerusalem considers its security red lines.

TRUMP’S TURKEY ARMS SALE PROPOSAL SPARKS CONGRESSIONAL QUESTIONS BEFORE NATO SUMMIT

Decommissioned Syrian air force planes are seen at the Abu Duhur military airbase east of Idlib, following the takeover of the area by Syrian opposition fighters on Dec.7, 2024.(AP Photo/Omar Albam, File)

“To the extent that Ankara will push boundaries and attempt to position military capabilities that Israel feels is harmful to its safety, we are likely to see pre-emptive action by Jerusalem,” Ciddi said.“The ball is in Erdoğan’s court to not raise the temperature.”

Netanyahu is also facing criticism from inside Israel.Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, a longtime Netanyahu adversary, accused the prime minister Wednesday of deliberately escalating tensions with Turkey for political purposes ahead of the Israeli election.

“Turkey is not Iran or Assad’s Syria,” Barak wrote in Hebrew on X, arguing that Israel’s strategic disputes with Ankara could be resolved, moderated or postponed through discreet diplomacy coordinated with the United States.

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Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan speaks during a rally in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Istanbul, Turkey October 28, 2023.(Dilara Senkaya/Reuters)

C., and Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz for comment.

com/category/world/conflicts" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">conflict, global affairs, human rights and political accountability. She has directed and produced more than 200 documentary segments across more than 40 countries, documenting conflicts, humanitarian crises, corruption, human trafficking, gender-based violence and the human stories behind major world events.

Lachter’s reporting has taken her into conflict zones and crisis areas across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa.Her work has included uncovering human trafficking networks, revealing an ISIS underground torture prison in Syria, documenting thewar in Ukraine and interviewing senior political figures and world leaders.She was also among the Western journalists who entered Russia after the war began to bring testimonies from Putin’s opposition.Lachter is the recipient of the 2022 Peres Center for Peace Award and was a 2023–2024 Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan.She also won two Rockower Awards for Excellence in Reporting.She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in political science.