Israel is lobbying the United States to keep Syria weak and decentralized, including by letting Russia keep its military bases there to counter Turkey’s growing influence in the country, four sources familiar with the efforts say.
Turkey’s often fraught ties with Israel have come under severe strain during the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack and Israeli officials have told Washington that Syria’s new Islamist rulers, who are backed by Ankara, pose a threat to Israel’s borders, the sources say.
The lobbying points to a concerted Israeli campaign to influence US policy at a critical juncture for Syria, as the Islamists who ousted Bashar al-Assad try to stabilize the fractured state and get Washington to lift punishing sanctions.
Israel communicated its views to top US officials during meetings in Washington in February and subsequent meetings in Israel with US Congressional representatives, three US sources and another person familiar with the contacts say. The main points were also circulated to some senior US officials in an Israeli “white paper,” two of the sources say.
All the sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to diplomatic sensitivities.
The US State Department and National Security Council did not provide a response to questions for this story. The office of Israel’s prime minister and the foreign ministries in Syria and Turkey did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It is not clear to what extent US President Donald Trump’s administration is considering adopting Israel’s proposals, the sources say. It has said little about Syria, leaving uncertainty over both the future of the sanctions and whether US forces deployed in the northeast will remain.
Israel has publicly declared its mistrust of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist faction that led the campaign that toppled Assad and which emerged from a group that was affiliated to al Qaeda until it cut ties in 2016.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel will not tolerate the presence in southern Syria of HTS, or any other forces affiliated with the new rulers, and demanded the territory be demilitarized.
Following Assad’s ouster, Israel carried out extensive airstrikes on Syrian military bases and moved forces into a UN-monitored demilitarized zone within Syria. Earlier this week, Israel struck military sites south of Damascus, including weapons depots. The Israel Defense Forces has said that it will continue to act to prevent all weapons deliveries to Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group.
Israel is deeply concerned about Turkey’s role as a close ally of Syria’s new rulers, three US sources say, describing the messages delivered by Israeli officials. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who leads the Islamist-rooted AK Party, said last year that Islamic countries should form an alliance against what he called “the growing threat of expansionism” from Israel.
Earlier this month, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel was concerned Turkey was supporting efforts by Iran to rebuild Hezbollah and that Islamist groups in Syria were creating another front against Israel.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.