Navigating the Post-Assad Landscape in Syria: Israel’s Turkish Nightmare

This article examines Israel’s policy toward Syria in the post-Assad era. It analyzes the gains, opportunities, and challenges for Israel and explains why it is concerned that Syria could evolve into a security threat even greater than before. Whereas the Trump administration encourages the Netanyahu government to pursue security arrangements with the new regime in Damascus, Israel’s policy of supporting centrifugal forces in Syria is aimed at countering not only al-Shara’s Islamist interim government but also its patron—Turkey. With the Turkish leadership referring to Damascus as the first stop on the road to Jerusalem, and Turkey being portrayed in Jerusalem as a threat potentially greater than Iran, tensions between two of America’s closest allies in the region have reached new heights. I argue that this dynamic, together with their growing military presence in Syria, necessitates the establishment of a US-administered de-confliction mechanism and the continued presence of US forces in the country as part of it. Preventing a major crisis over Syria between Turkey and Israel is essential to maintaining focus on significant challenges to US interests in East Asia and Europe.