Intelligence on Turkish plans prompted IDF push for Syrian airbase strike
i24NEWS learned that intelligence gathered in recent weeks drove the push for the operation; Defense Minister Israel Katz appeared to confirm the details Saturday
Israeli intelligence gathered in recent weeks on planned Turkish activity at Syria’s Abu al-Duhur airbase prompted IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir to press the government to authorize Tuesday’s strike, i24NEWS learned Friday.
The intelligence was passed to Zamir, who presented the findings to Israel’s political leadership and persuaded it to approve the operation. Israel said the planned Turkish activity at the base would have endangered its security.
Defense Minister Israel Katz appeared to confirm those details Saturday, saying the IDF had repeatedly recommended striking the airbase based on “clear intelligence” about Turkish plans that would have threatened Israel’s security.
Officials in the defense establishment were unhappy with subsequent public comments by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Katz, believing the operation should have been kept low-profile.
Netanyahu also convened a classified security discussion Thursday on the potential threat posed by Turkey. Ankara is not formally classified as an enemy state in Israeli defense planning, but is regarded as a country whose policies and strategic interests could shift rapidly enough to bring it into direct conflict with Israel.
Israel’s ability to rebuild and expand its military capabilities was a central issue in the discussion. The IDF has warned for several weeks that delays in its force-building program have reached a critical point, while Defense Ministry Director-General Amir Baram has said the military is not receiving the funding required for the task.
Preparing for a possible confrontation with Turkey would require substantial changes to Israel’s military planning, particularly in view of Ankara’s naval and air power and the intelligence capabilities such a conflict would demand.