Israel alarmed by US decision to withdraw from Syria

Washington’s notification to Tel Aviv regarding its decision to withdraw from Syria has caused concern in Israel. The Tel Aviv administration is worried about Türkiye gaining strategic power in the region.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that the Washington administration informed Tel Aviv that it would begin a phased withdrawal of troops from Syria within two months. It also stated that Israel is attempting to prevent the US from withdrawing its military assets from Syria. The Tel Aviv administration is reportedly trying to prevent this move due to “fears that Türkiye will take over more strategic assets in the new Syria.”

The report noted that US President Donald Trump had previously announced his intention to withdraw troops from Syria, and the Pentagon, which has been working on withdrawal plans for a long time and is preparing to implement them, has informed the Israelis about this.

Israeli officials have “expressed serious concerns,” but this has reportedly had no impact on the US’s decision to withdraw.

Lebanon-based al-Mayadeen television reported last week that the US military had begun evacuating some military bases in northeastern Syria, moving personnel and equipment to Iraq.

According to a senior Israeli official who spoke to Yedioth Ahronoth, the US withdrawal of troops from northern Syria has the potential to increase tensions between Türkiye and Israel and “increase Türkiye’s appetite to control more strategic military points in Syria.”

The report stated that the US withdrawal process from Syria and President Trump’s remarks about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House last week have put Israeli security institutions on alert, and Israeli officials did not find Trump’s mediation offer “reassuring.”

It was stated that Israel’s attacks in recent weeks on the T4 military base in the Tedmur (Palmyra) district of Homs province, where Türkiye was said to be stationed, were carried out to delay Türkiye’s deployment before the US withdrawal, and it was seen as a “race against time” before the US began to withdraw troops.

It is reported that Israel is afraid of the possibility that Türkiye will limit Israel’s freedom of movement in Syria and pose a potential threat to the Syrian territories it occupies in the future.