Netanyahu Believes Confrontation with Türkiye in Syria is 'Inevitable'https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5125493-netanyahu-believes-confrontation-t%C3%BCrkiye-syria-inevitable
Netanyahu Believes Confrontation with Türkiye in Syria is 'Inevitable'
Israeli army tanks and a bulldozer drive through the Abu Diab military post on March 19, 2025, on the southern outskirts of the Syrian border town of Quneitra, which locals say had Russian forces' presence before the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
Netanyahu Believes Confrontation with Türkiye in Syria is 'Inevitable'
Israeli army tanks and a bulldozer drive through the Abu Diab military post on March 19, 2025, on the southern outskirts of the Syrian border town of Quneitra, which locals say had Russian forces' presence before the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding security consultations to discuss concerns over Turkish influence in Syria following the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime, and is trying to portray a confrontation with Ankara as inevitable, Israeli security sources said.
The Hebrew website Walla, citing security sources, said Syria is holding contacts with Türkiye regarding the transfer of areas near Palmyra (central Syria) to the Turkish army in exchange for economic and military support for Damascus. This development sparked significant Israeli concerns, the sources said.
They noted that the new Syrian regime is working to restore military bases and enhance missile and defense capabilities in the south, near Israel.
Also, Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu, through his advisors, is pushing Israeli media to portray that “a confrontation with Türkiye on Syrian territory is inevitable.”
In January, a confidential Israeli government study group delivered a warning about the Türkiye-Syria alliance. The committee’s report urged Netanyahu to prepare for a potential war with Ankara in Syria.
Also, the Jerusalem Post said Israel must prepare for a direct confrontation with Türkiye, according to the Nagel Committee’s latest report on the defense budget and security strategy.
It noted that the committee, established by the Israeli government, warns that Ankara’s ambitions to restore its Ottoman-era influence could lead to heightened tensions with Israel, possibly escalating into conflict.
The report highlights the risk of Syrian factions aligning with Türkiye, creating a new and potent threat to Israel’s security.
“The threat from Syria could evolve into something even more dangerous than the Iranian threat,” the report states, warning that Turkish-backed forces might act as proxies, fueling regional instability.
Meanwhile, Syria TV said two members of the Syrian defense ministry's 42nd Division were injured in the Israeli airstrike that targeted the Palmyra military airport last Friday night.
Later, the channel reported that US helicopters flew at low altitudes over Deir Ezzor.
Last week, Syrian state news agency, SANA, said Israeli strikes on the southern Syria province of Deraa killed and wounded several civilians.
Lebanese Officials, Palestinian President Agree on State Monopoly over Armshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5146345-lebanese-officials-palestinian-president-agree-state-monopoly-over-arms
This handout picture released by the Palestinian Authority's Press Office (PPO) shows President Mahmoud Abbas (L) and Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam talking as they overlook Beirut on May 22, 2025. (PPO / AFP / Handout)
Lebanese Officials, Palestinian President Agree on State Monopoly over Arms
This handout picture released by the Palestinian Authority's Press Office (PPO) shows President Mahmoud Abbas (L) and Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam talking as they overlook Beirut on May 22, 2025. (PPO / AFP / Handout)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas continued on Thursday his visit to Lebanon with agreements being reached that only the Lebanese state should have monopoly over the possession of weapons, effectively ending the proliferation of Palestinian arms in the country.
Abbas held separate meetings with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday. The visit, his first to Lebanon since 2017, aims to resolve the issue of Palestinian weapons in refugee camps as the Lebanese state seeks to impose its authority throughout its territories.
The hour-long meeting with Berri tackled the general situation in Lebanon and the region as “Israel continues its aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank,” said a parliament statement. They also covered Lebanese-Palestinian relations.
Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, right, shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of a meeting in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP)
At the government palace, Abbas held a bilateral meeting with Salam, and later a security meeting attended by Lebanese and Palestinian officials.
A statement from Salam’s office said discussions focused on “ongoing efforts to bolster Lebanon’s stability and security and ensure that the sovereignty of the Lebanese state is respected throughout its territories, including in the Palestinian refugee camps.”
Salam and Abbas agreed that the Palestinians in Lebanon “are guests and they should commit to the decisions of the Lebanese state.” They rejected attempts to naturalize the Palestinians, underlining their right to return to their homeland.
They agreed “to end all forms of armed presence outside the authority of the state and completely put an end to the issue of Palestinian weapons outside or inside the camps, so that the state can have monopoly over arms.”
An agreement was reached to form a joint executive committee to implement these agreements, said the statement.
Salam and Abbas also underscored “the importance of joint work to address the rights and social issues related to the Palestinian refugees, so that their humanitarian conditions are improved while state sovereignty is respected.”
On Gaza, they called for an end to Israel’s war and rejected attempts to displace the Palestinian people. They reiterated support to the two-state solution, saying it would fairly and comprehensively resolve the conflict in the region. They urged the implementation of relevant international resolutions and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative that would ensure the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Lebanese sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat the formation of the joint Lebanese-Palestinian committee that would handle the issue of Palestinian weapons in Lebanon. It will hold its first meeting on Friday.
The sources said it will be comprised of Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee chief Ramez Dimechkie, Lebanese General Security chief Hassan Choucair, Lebanese Army Intelligence chief Brigadier General Tony Kahwaji, Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization Azzam al-Ahmed, Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon Ashraf Dabbour, and Secretary of Fatah and PLO factions in Lebanon Fathi Abu al-Ardat.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) signs a guest book as Lebanese President Joseph Aoun looks on at the presidential palace in Baabda, near Beirut, Lebanon, 21 May 2025. (EPA)
Salam confirmed Friday's meeting in a post on the X platform. He said it will discuss “setting a clear timeframe for the implementation of the mechanism to limit the possession of weapons to the state, including arms inside the camps. It will also discuss the civil rights of Palestinians in Lebanon.”
“These weapons no longer help achieve the rights of the Palestinian people, but they are a danger because they could be used to stir intra-Palestinian or Palestinian-Lebanese strife,” he warned.
“The strength of the Palestinian cause does not lie in the weapons inside the Palestinian camps in Lebanon, but in the rising number of countries that recognize a Palestinian state and hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating across the world in solidarity with the Palestinians and Gaza,” Salam stressed.
Abbas had kicked of his three-day visit to Lebanon on Wednesday with a meeting with President Joseph Aoun.
He had declared to Aoun that the Palestinians in Lebanon “will not operate outside of Lebanese law. They are temporary guests and have no desire, opinion or stance that supports the carrying of weapons.”
Leading member of the Progressive Socialist Party Toufic Sultan described Abbas and Aoun’s meeting as “historic”.
Speaking at a press conference, he added: “We have waited long for the Palestinian presence and their weapons to be put on the table. It has long been a dream for Lebanon to be devoid of weapons. Gone are the days of a state within a state.”
