Erdogan claims 'Israel fears end of Syrian civil war'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned Israel's recent actions in Syria, accusing the Jewish State of attempting to reignite the Syrian civil war. "Israel is trying to provoke certain groups in Syria to ignite new conflicts, because it is worried about the possibility of the civil war in Syria ending," Erdoğan claimed.

During a visit to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus on Saturday, Erdoğan called on the international community to “extinguish the fireball caused by Israel.” On Thursday night, the IDF struck the Presidential Palace compound in Damascus as part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's directive to take strong action to protect the Druze in Syria in recent days.

Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that the strike in Damascus was meant to send “a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not permit Syrian troops to move south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community." Israel has brought multiple Druze citizens of Syria to Israeli hospitals for medical treatment and has acted to provide humanitarian aid to Druze communities in Syria over the last week.Two Turkish F-16 fighter planes entered Syrian airspace as the IAF was carrying out airstrikes in the country in an attempt to warn the Israeli aircraft off.  (Ed note: The IAF is also hunting for stores of chemicals, arms, and munitions to keep away from HTS.)   (Read More)