Turkish plans to establish a presence and air defenses on Syrian soil would hinder Israel’s operational freedom, a situation Israel is unlikely to accept in the post-October 7 Middle East.

A source familiar with the matter told MEE that Turkey has begun moving to take control of the T4 air base, located near Palmyra in central Syria. “A Hisar-type air defence system will be deployed to T4 to provide air cover for the base,” the source said.

The Israeli air force consistently aims at targets across Syria, including the Palmyra base. The Turkish presence there ‘is a potential threat,’

The recent arrest of Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has escalated political conflicts within Turkey and critically threatened the country’s democratic situation. Beyond its internal impact, this incident could change Turkey’s geographic and political position in the Middle East,

As domestic stability gets wobbly in Turkey the destabilizing effect can radiate out to the neighboring countries, to the region and beyond

Israel defended the moves as necessary security measures, but Syria accused it of trying to destabilize the country.

Turkey, which allegedly a major role in the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is now reportedly planning to capture the strategic Tiyas Air Base, the largest airbase in Syria. According to reports,

There are some notable parallels between Turkey’s purported planned deployment at T-4 and the Russian military’s September 2015 intervention in Syria during the civil war.