Turkey slams Israel expansionism amid call for Syria federalism

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel on Monday of pursuing an expansionist agenda through its actions in Syria.

His remarks followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s declaration that he would not allow the deployment of the new Syrian government’s forces south of Damascus, comments widely seen as an attempt to isolate and divide the south.

“Netanyahu’s government and those who follow his agenda are using the current situation to further Israel’s expansionism,” Fidan said during a press briefing on Monday.

He added, “The ongoing occupations in Lebanon and Syria, the provocation and the aggression, as well as the continued violations against regional sovereignty, are unacceptable.”

Fidan also condemned Israel’s “ongoing occupations in Lebanon and Syria,” asserting they represented clear attempts to exploit regional instability for territorial gain.

“For many years, we have known that Israel has developed a project aimed at creating weakness and instability in neighbouring countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria,” he added.

“Beyond this, it collaborates with the United States to prevent second-tier countries from acquiring military capabilities.”

As well as Netanyahu and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz’s comments, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called for the creation of a “federal state” in Syria on Monday. 

During a speech with the EU-Israel forum, Saar argued that Syria could be split into a federal entity with separate “autonomous entities”, which is in line with previous reports of Israeli plans to split post-Assad Syria. 

The three-hour meeting was attended by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaya Kallas and the foreign ministers of EU member states. 

“We must work together to protect democracy, the world order and stability. Our relations should not be held hostage by the bitter conflict we are waging with the Palestinians,” Saar told the EU diplomats. 

“A stable Syria can only be a federal Syria that includes different autonomous regions and respects different ways of life,” he added. 

Saar went on to say that Hamas and Islamic Jihad were working in Syria to create another front with Israel, allegations that have no basis in reality. 

The hard-right foreign minister also attacked the Syria’s transitional government led by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, describing it as an “Islamic jihad terrorist group”. 

“Everyone knows who al-Sharaa is. They are taking revenge on the Alawites, they are hurting the Kurds, and we will not give up security on our border,” he said.

Saar’s comments fly in the face of the reality of post-Assad Syria, where the transitional government has taken action to stop sectarian attacks on Alawites and has peacefully negotiated the integration of Kurdish-led militant groups into the Syrian army. 

Many believe Israel is lying about Syria’s minorities to advance its agenda of splitting the country up along ethnic and religious lines, something that Syrians will not tolerate.

On Monday, Syrians across the south, including the country’s Druze minority, held large scale protests opposing Netanyahu and Katz’s comments and calling for an end to Israel’s occupation, declaring that they are all part of a free Syria. 

Ever since the Syrian revolutionary forces overthrew the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Israel has waged brutal aggression against the country, including unprecedented airstrikes and expanding the illegal  occupation of the Golan Heights into the buffer zone.