Turkey demanded to stop Israel — Jerusalem responds: "It will not happen"
The Turkish Foreign Minister accused Israel of an "occupying mentality" and called on the international community to pressure it to stop its activities in Syria. Gideon Sa'ar replied that Turkey itself violates Syria's sovereignty and clarified: "It will not happen."
A sharp confrontation occurred between Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, after the latter accused Israel of violating Syria's sovereignty and called on the international community to exert pressure on it.
Fidan stated:
"Israel's attacks, targeting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, are one of the most serious threats to the country's stability. The international community must demonstrate a stronger response in the face of Israel's occupying mentality. It must exert the necessary pressure to ensure compliance with the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement and respect for Syria's sovereignty."
In response, Sa'ar published a sharp statement on the X network in which he accused Turkey of hypocrisy and violating the sovereignty of countries in the region. "Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accuses Israel of undermining stability in Syria because it takes the minimum measures necessary to protect Israeli citizens from attacks. These are the same Turkish leaders who for decades have violated Syria's sovereignty and cynically lecture others on international law," Sa'ar stated.
According to him, Turkey occupies five percent of Syria's territory and intends to establish military bases inside Syria to undermine Israel's security. For comparison, Israel holds a buffer zone that constitutes only one-tenth of a percent of Syria's territory, in order to protect itself from terrorist organizations seeking to attack Israel from southern Syria, after Syrian militants violated the Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Israel and Syria from 1974 and entered the buffer zone in December 2024.
Sa'ar continued his attack on Ankara's regional policy: "Under President Erdogan, Turkey has conducted extensive military operations against Kurdish forces throughout Syria and Iraq, repeatedly threatened neighboring countries, maintained its occupation of 36 percent of Cyprus for more than half a century, and has faced widespread international criticism for its human rights record."
In conclusion, the Foreign Minister clarified:
"What Minister Fidan wants is for Israel to stop defending itself against threats to its security. It will not happen. Israel will continue to take all necessary measures to protect its citizens from any threat."
