A committee presenting reports to the Israeli government “warned” the Netanyahu administration about a “potential conflict” with Türkiye.
The Nagel Committee, as it is informally known, is led by former National Security Council Chair Yaakov Nagel and since 2023, presents recommendations to the Ministry of Defense upon orders of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Their latest report disclosed by the Israeli media, cited the potential in the aftermath of the ouster of the Baathist regime in Syria last December. Israel was quick to occupy the Golan Heights, a point of contention between Tel Aviv and Damascus when the Assad regime fell.
The Nagel report follows a similar warning by Türkiye that expansionist Israel may target Türkiye after Palestine and Lebanon. Last October, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned that the Netanyahu administration would not stop at Palestinian territories and would set its sights on other regional countries, namely Türkiye.
Erdoğan said back then that Türkiye was “aware where Israel’s expansionist policies will ultimately target” and assured: “Türkiye will never compromise its security. We have the strength to burst their bubble.” Erdoğan, one of the most virulent critics of Israel, has repeatedly called for unity among Muslim countries, arguing the current conflict was not between Israel and Palestine but “a fight between expansionist Zionism and Muslims defending their homeland.”
The report by the committee urged Israel to take into account the strategic challenges posed by Türkiye, including Ankara’s diplomatic and military clout in the region. It recommended the government prepare for possible scenarios of military confrontation in northern Syria. Syria’s north hosts both the PKK terrorist group’s Syrian wing YPG, which has repeatedly sought Israel’s aid against possible Turkish cross-border offensives, as well as the Syrian National Army (SNA), which recently captured several PKK/YPG strongholds. Türkiye in the past launched cross-border offensives in Syria to clear several areas from the PKK/YPG and Daesh terrorist groups.
The committee claimed the new Syrian administration may be a “Turkish emissary” on the path to what it claimed was the restoration of the Ottoman Empire. Close ties between the new rulers of Syria and Ankara apparently irked the committee, which highlighted a joint “Syrian-Turkish threat.”
Türkiye is one of the most outspoken critics of Israel’s genocide targeting Palestinians since 2023 and blames the international community’s constant support of the murderous regime in Tel Aviv as the main cause of the prolonged genocide. Türkiye is also a major power in the NATO military alliance with a strong army. However, Ankara always emphasized diplomatic means to resolve the Palestine-Israel conflict. It also rallies the international community to stop arms exports to Israel.