Turkish foreign minister accuses Israel of expansionism in Syria
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel of “regional aggression” and “expansionism” following recent remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his country would not allow Syria’s new army to enter areas south of Damascus.
Fidan on Wednesday also welcomed a national dialogue conference held by Syria’s new rulers who have promised an inclusive political transition.
“The biggest obstacle to peace and stability in our region is Israel’s regional aggression,” Fidan said. “Netanyahu’s recent statements regarding Syria clearly show that Israel is not in favor of peace. Israel must end its regional expansionism under the guise of establishing security.”
Fidan said that Turkey expects the transition process in Syria to prevent separatist movements — a reference to Syrian Kurdish militias, which Ankara views as affiliates of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, and seeks to have disbanded.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit meanwhile condemned Israeli airstrikes and ground incursions in Syria as a “a reckless provocation and an escalation that seizes the opportunity of political transition in Syria to establish an illegal and illegitimate reality.”
He called for the international community “to take clear positions to condemn this unjustified aggression that aims to ignite tension in the region and put obstacles in the way of political transition in Syria.”
Since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israel has regularly launched airstrike on military sites in Syria and Israeli forces moved into territory in southern Syria adjacent to the Israel-annexed Golan Heights and have made clear they plan to stay indefinitely, citing security concerns.
There has been no official response from the Syrian interim government, led by members of the former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, to Netanyahu’s comments, but Syrian officials have called for Israel to withdraw from the territory it has seized since Assad’s fall.
Source: Associated Press
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