Erdogan Accuses Israel of Seeking to ‘Dynamite’ Syria ‘Revolution'

 Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the 4th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2025) in Antalya, on April 11, 2025. (AFP)
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the 4th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2025) in Antalya, on April 11, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

Erdogan Accuses Israel of Seeking to ‘Dynamite’ Syria ‘Revolution'

 Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the 4th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2025) in Antalya, on April 11, 2025. (AFP)
Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he delivers a speech during the opening ceremony of the 4th edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2025) in Antalya, on April 11, 2025. (AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday accused Israel of sowing divisions in Syria in a bid to "dynamite" the "revolution" that toppled strongman Bashar al-Assad.

Türkiye is a key backer of Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa whose Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group led the opposition coalition which ousted Assad in December.

"Israel is trying to dynamite the December 8 revolution by stirring up ethnic and religious affiliations and turning minorities in Syria against the government," Erdogan told a diplomacy forum in the southern Mediterranean resort of Antalya.

Erdogan's comments come as officials from Türkiye and Israel began talks this week aimed at easing tensions over Syria.

Israel has launched air strikes and ground incursions to keep Syrian forces away from its border.

A Turkish defense ministry source said on Thursday that the first technical meeting with Israel had taken place in Azerbaijan on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned this did not mean the two sides were moving towards normalizing ties strained over Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.

Türkiye has suspended all trade with Israel, with Erdogan accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "genocide" in the Palestinian territory since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel began the war.

On Friday, Erdogan condemned Israel's "barbarism" after a pre-dawn air strike that officials in Gaza said killed 10 members of the same family.

"Just this morning, 10 people, including seven children, from the same family were martyred in Khan Younis. If this is not barbarism, I ask you, what is it?" he asked at the diplomacy forum.

- Sharaa at diplomacy forum -

Sharaa, who arrived in Antalya earlier in the day, was due to meet with Erdogan on the sidelines of the diplomacy forum.

It marks his second trip to Türkiye as leader after Erdogan welcomed him to the capital Ankara in February.

After meeting with Qatar's foreign minister Sharaa, wearing a suit and a tie, was mobbed by reporters clamoring for comment.

Ankara's influence on Syria's new authorities has worried Israel, which considers Sharaa's forces to be extremists and has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites in Syria since Assad's ouster.

"Israel is turning into a problematic country that directly threatens the stability of the region, especially with its attacks on Lebanon and Syria," Erdogan told the forum.

The Turkish leader said the Syrian "revolution" offered an opportunity to bring stability to the region and warned it should not be wasted.

"We will not allow Syria to be dragged into a new vortex of instability," he said.

He also said Israeli strikes were denting efforts to combat the ISIS group.



Debris from Iranian Drones, Missiles Hits Homes in Southern Syria

A house in rural Daraa is damaged by debris from Israeli-Iranian crossfire. (SANA)
A house in rural Daraa is damaged by debris from Israeli-Iranian crossfire. (SANA)
TT
20

Debris from Iranian Drones, Missiles Hits Homes in Southern Syria

A house in rural Daraa is damaged by debris from Israeli-Iranian crossfire. (SANA)
A house in rural Daraa is damaged by debris from Israeli-Iranian crossfire. (SANA)

Israeli air defenses shot down several Iranian drones over Syria’s southern Daraa province on Monday, causing material damage to residential areas, but no reported casualties, according to Syrian state and local media.

One drone crashed into a house in the northern neighborhood of the city of Nawa in western Daraa after being intercepted by Israeli air defenses, partially damaging the building but causing no injuries, Syria’s state-run Alikhbaria TV reported.

Local outlet Daraa 24 said another Iranian drone went down near a house in the village of Khirbet Qais, also in western Daraa. There were no injuries or material losses, it said.

Separately, the “Horan Free” gathering reported that an Iranian missile intercepted by Israeli forces before dawn landed near the town of Jasim in northern Daraa, igniting a fire in a tent housing a Bedouin family. The blaze was quickly contained and no injuries were reported.

In a third incident, an Israeli warplane shot down a drone over the city of al-Sanamayn in northern Daraa, triggering a fire in the basement of a house near the “National Hospital” and destroying a motorcycle. No casualties were reported.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Sheikh Ahmed Arab, an imam and preacher at a mosque in the city of Nawa, said: “Israeli warplanes and Iranian drones and missiles violate Syrian airspace on a near-daily basis since the outbreak of hostilities between the two countries.”

“Their aerial confrontations unfold above our heads, and debris from aircraft and missiles often falls in towns and villages like Nawa, al-Sanamayn, al-Rafid, and Nafaah, causing material damage,” he added.

“It’s deeply troubling and worrisome for us as civilians, but we are powerless to stop it.”

Arab stressed the need for international protection of Syrian airspace, calling for measures to prevent both Israeli and Iranian aircraft and missiles from operating over the country.

“There must be international oversight to stop Israeli warplanes and Iranian drones and missiles from violating Syrian airspace,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Moreover, residents in the Yarmouk Basin region of western Daraa, near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, had received warning messages on their mobile phones, believed to be from Israel, he revealed.

The local Horan Free gathering website, which covers developments in southern Syria, posted a screenshot of one such message, titled “Emergency Alert – Maximum Level.”

“In the next few minutes, alerts are expected in your area,” the message read. “You must move to the nearest protected location. If an alert is received, enter a shelter and remain there until further notice.”

Mufleh Salem al-Suleiman, a resident of the town of Koayiah in the Yarmouk Basin region of western Daraa, voiced strong frustration over what he described as Syria’s skies becoming a “battleground” for Iran and Israel.

“The Syrian sky is violated by Israeli warplanes and Iranian aircraft and missiles. Debris from these clashes is falling on our homes and destroying them,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“People, especially children, are terrified. Many are staying indoors or even sheltering in basements out of fear.”

“Israel and Iran are fighting in the skies of other nations, above the heads of their people and at their expense,” he added, calling for international protection of Syrian airspace.