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<div class="gmail-inner-article-top"><h1 class="gmail-">'Syria and Turkiye represent bigger threat to Israel than Iran': Israeli minister</h1><p class="gmail-">Israeli
occupation troops have launched hundreds of airstrikes and ground
incursions into Syrian territory since the fall of the Assad government</p><div class="gmail-another-name"><p><a href="https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9" style="color:rgb(164,4,4)">News Desk</a></p></div><div class="gmail-another-name" style="margin-top:16px"><p><span style="color:rgb(84,88,94)">JUN 19, 2026 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/syria-and-turkiye-represent-bigger-threat-to-israel-than-iran-israeli-minister">https://thecradle.co/articles/syria-and-turkiye-represent-bigger-threat-to-israel-than-iran-israeli-minister</a></font></p></div></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-img"><img src="https://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/750533e6-6bf8-11f1-92f7-00163e02c055.jpeg" alt="" width="558" height="314" style="margin-right: 0px;"><span>(Photo credit: Mosa'ab Elshamy/AP)</span></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-content"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-col-md-8 gmail-col-sm-7"><div class="gmail-article-content"><span class="gmail-article-body"><p><span style="background-color:transparent">On
18 June, Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli declared in
an interview with Israeli Army Radio that Tel Aviv \u201cwill be at war with
Syria sooner or later,\u201d highlighting that the alliance between Damascus
and Turkiye poses a \u201cstrategic challenge\u201d to his country.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">The
Likud official said, \u201cThere is no way that a jihadist regime rooted in
ISIS and Al-Qaeda, whose aspiration is the unification of Jerusalem, can
live in peace alongside the State of Israel.\u201d </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">In
a separate interview with Kol Barama, a prominent Israeli
ultra-Orthodox radio station, Chikli identified Syria as part of a
\u201cradical Sunni axis of evil\u201d involving Qatar, Turkiye, and Pakistan,
labeling it \u201cfar more troubling\u201d than Iran, and claimed that these
nations shaped a recent US\u2013Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU)
intended to end regional hostilities.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">While
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed the memorandum as an
\u201cimportant development,\u201d Chikli joined other Likud lawmakers in branding
Turkiye an \u201cenemy state.\u201d </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">He
claimed that Turkiye holds \u201cvery clear ambitions\u201d compromising Israeli
interests, saying that Ankara and Damascus are \u201cten thousand times more
concerning than Iran.\u201d</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">Following
the ousting of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December
2024, the Israeli military continues to occupy Syrian land and destroy
military equipment, using the new government as a pretext for escalation
and territorial expansion.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now demands total demilitarization from south Damascus to the 1973 demarcation line.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">Since
December 2024, Israeli military violations in southern Syria have
escalated beyond periodic airstrikes to a sustained campaign involving
ground incursions, raids, and the establishment of checkpoints. </span></p><blockquote class="gmail-twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">\U0001d5df\U0001d5f2\U0001d603\U0001d5ee\U0001d5fb\U0001d601\U0001d7ee\U0001d7f0
\U0001d5f6\U0001d600 \U0001d5f9\U0001d5ee\U0001d602\U0001d5fb\U0001d5f0\U0001d5f5\U0001d5f6\U0001d5fb\U0001d5f4 \U0001d5ee \U0001d5f1\U0001d5ee\U0001d5f6\U0001d5f9\U0001d606 \U0001d601\U0001d5ff\U0001d5ee\U0001d5f0\U0001d5f8\U0001d5f2\U0001d5ff \U0001d5fc\U0001d5f3
\U0001d5ff\U0001d5f2\U0001d5fd\U0001d5fc\U0001d5ff\U0001d601\U0001d5f2\U0001d5f1 \U0001d5dc\U0001d600\U0001d5ff\U0001d5ee\U0001d5f2\U0001d5f9\U0001d5f6 \U0001d5fa\U0001d5f6\U0001d5f9\U0001d5f6\U0001d601\U0001d5ee\U0001d5ff\U0001d606 \U0001d5ee\U0001d5f0\U0001d601\U0001d5f6\U0001d603\U0001d5f6\U0001d601\U0001d606
\U0001d5f6\U0001d5fb\U0001d600\U0001d5f6\U0001d5f1\U0001d5f2 \U0001d5e6\U0001d606\U0001d5ff\U0001d5f6\U0001d5ee<br><br>Since December 2024, Israeli operations have expanded beyond airstrikes to include ground incursions, raids,\u2026 <a href="https://t.co/rgMKOePkDD">pic.twitter.com/rgMKOePkDD</a></p>\u2014 Levant24 (@Levant_24_) <a href="https://x.com/Levant_24_/status/2067675161512292826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 18, 2026</a></blockquote> <p><span style="background-color:transparent">According to a daily tracker launched by<i> Levant24</i>,
Israeli forces have carried out approximately 1,128 ground incursions
and 1,055 airstrikes, advancing more than 20 kilometers beyond the
occupied Golan Heights. These actions have resulted in over 197
detentions and at least 36 fatalities.</span></p><blockquote class="gmail-twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Israeli occupation forces push into Quneitra village, raid homes<br>\u2014\u2014<br>Israeli
occupation forces advanced into the village of Al-Asbah in the southern
countryside of Quneitra shortly after midnight, deploying nine military
vehicles and raiding several homes before later withdrawing,\u2026 <a href="https://t.co/vUNbXuLBqj">pic.twitter.com/vUNbXuLBqj</a></p>\u2014 The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) <a href="https://x.com/TheCradleMedia/status/2067907490554249690?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2026</a></blockquote> <p><span style="background-color:transparent">This
expansion also includes property destruction and the systematic mapping
of military positions, reflecting a broader pattern of activity that
extends deep into Syrian territory.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">Self-appointed Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa is reportedly </span><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/syria-unwilling-unprepared-to-attack-lebanon-despite-us-pressure-report"><span style="background-color:transparent">resisting intense pressure</span></a><span style="background-color:transparent"> from the US to launch a military incursion into Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah. </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">Despite
a framework proposed by US President Donald Trump for the Syrian
military to lead this offensive, Sharaa remained \u201cunprepared and
unwilling,\u201d according to Israel\u2019s Broadcasting Corporation (KAN).</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">He
cited concerns that such an attack would damage his regional legitimacy
by appearing to serve Israeli interests, especially while Israel
continues to occupy Syrian territory. </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">Although
US envoy Tom Barrack has threatened Lebanon with a Syrian assault to
dismantle Hezbollah, Sharaa has dismissed the reports as \u201crumors,\u201d
asserting his goal is to end the war rather than expand it. </span></p><blockquote class="gmail-twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"If
Israel can't do the job without killing everyone else, Syria should do
the job," said US President Donald Trump during a bilateral meeting with
the Emir of Qatar.<br><br>Trump said the war on Lebanon was a secondary front and suggested that Syria, in coordination with the United\u2026 <a href="https://t.co/jgkH0YMkUj">pic.twitter.com/jgkH0YMkUj</a></p>\u2014 The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) <a href="https://x.com/TheCradleMedia/status/2066829705420882080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 16, 2026</a></blockquote> <p><span style="background-color:transparent">Israeli
War Minister Israel Katz told Channel 14 that \u201cWe do not need Julani.
Julani, the terrorist in a suit, does not need to come and help us. We
know Syria well. He is not going to help us in Lebanon.\u201d</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">He added that Sharaa \u201cshould stay in Syria, not interfere with us, and not make us interfere with him.\u201d </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent">\u201cDo
you know what really hurts the jihadists?\u201d Katz said, going on to
assert that killing them would not hurt them as much as \u201cwhen you take
territory from them and destroy their homes \u2013 and that's what we did.\u201d</span></p></span></div></div></div></div>
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