Magazine article
Why Israel and Turkey are trading insults and jockeying for power in neighbouring Syria
The Conversation, Vol.2 September 2026
2026
Appears in The Conversation
Abstract
When Israeli jets struck the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northern Syria on August 18, Israel said the attack was meant to stop Turkish forces from deploying there to help rebuild Syria’s army.
US intelligence found no evidence to support the claim, and Turkey and Syria denied any such plan.
In the weeks since, Israel and Turkey – the two countries with the most powerful militaries in the region – have traded their harshest words in years.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has branded Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan an “antisemitic tyrant”, while Erdoğan has accused Israel of being a “terror state”.
Israeli media also reported this week that Turkish warships have approached Israeli vessels in the Mediterranean Sea and forced them to change course.
Both governments say they do not want war. So, why are two close US allies – one a NATO member, the other a nuclear power – suddenly circling each other over Syria?
Details
- Title
- Why Israel and Turkey are trading insults and jockeying for power in neighbouring Syria
- Authors
- Juan Zahir Naranjo Cáceres - University of the Sunshine CoastShannon Brincat - University of the Sunshine Coast
- Publication details
- The Conversation, Vol.2 September 2026
- Publisher
- Conversation Media Group
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.64628/AA.9ynvtc93v
- ISSN
- 2201-5639
- Copyright note
- © The Conversation Media Group. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Organisation Unit
- International Office; Indigenous and Transcultural Research Centre; School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991264795702621
- Output Type
- Magazine article
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