Turkey Rejects Netanyahu’s ‘Trap’ After Israeli Strike on Syrian Airbase

Darwin, August 22: Israel carried out a strike last week on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in Syria’s Idlib province, claiming that Turkey was seeking to deploy troops at the facility. Both Turkey and the United States have rejected the claim.

Turkey has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of trying to create a trap aimed at further destabilising the Middle East, saying Ankara will not fall into it.

In a statement on Thursday, August 19, the Turkish presidency said, “We have enough experience not to fall into traps set by people like Netanyahu.” It added that Netanyahu’s goal was to undermine peace and stability in the region.

The Israeli strike damaged the runway at the airbase. Israel later claimed that a Turkish military delegation had visited the facility just hours before the attack. Turkey denied the allegation.

A Syrian monitoring group said the Turkish delegation had visited the airbase only to assess plans for its reconstruction.

Netanyahu, however, claimed that Turkish troops had been at the facility and described their presence as a security threat to Israel.

Speaking to Israel’s Army Radio, Netanyahu said, “We will not accept the Turkish military coming towards the north, because it poses a threat to us.”

Source: The New Arab