Is Turkey a bigger threat for Israel than Iran? Erdogan’s policies are causing tension to Netanyahu because…

Israel, which is already facing the looming threat of an Iran-Israel, must now deal with the emerging challenge from Turkey after the fall of Syria’s Assad.

Iran-Israel war: Iran and Israel have been at loggerheads for decades since the Jewish state was formed in 1948, with escalation between the two nations reaching a fever pitch last year, to the point where fears of a full-blown Iran-Israel seemed to be at the brink of becoming a reality.

However, according to a senior analyst, Turkey could prove to be a bigger threat for Israel than Iran or any other regional rival, because of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambitions for establishing a regional hegemony, and Ankara’s underlying Islamic ideology that lies beneath the country’s secular facade.

Erdogan’s policies major threat for Israel

According to Amine Ayoub, a Morocco-based policy analyst and Middle East Forum Fellow, Erdogan’s policies are at odds with Israel’s regional interests, a clash that could potentially lead to a direct military’s confrontation between the two countries at some point, and increase regional instability.

In a piece on Israeli website Ynet, Ayoub points out that while Israel and Turkey have traditionally had cordial relations, especially in the 1990s and 2000s, but things have changed in recent years as Ankara has emerged as an aggressive regional power.

The Middle East expert believes that Erdogan’s policies, particularly his foreign policy, poses a major challenge for Israel, which is far more extensive than the nuclear threat it faces from Iran.

Turkey’s close ties with Muslim Brotherhood

As per Amine Ayoub, Turkey’s close relations with the Muslim Brotherhood are also a threat to Israel. Over the years, Turkey has provided military and financial support to the Muslim Brotherhood, which openly opposes the existence of Israel, and advocates for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in the region.

The expert notes that Ankara’s support has helped the Muslim Brotherhood expand its influence in the Arab world, with Turkey extending support to factions associated with the group, harming Israel’s interests.

Additionally, Turkey’s increasing military presence in Syria is a direct security threat to Israel, and surging presence of Turkish-backed forces in northern Syria and threats of attack on Kurdish forces (allies of the West and the US) have created an unstable environment on Israel’s northeastern border, he says.

Israel needs multi-pronged strategy

Israel, which is already concerned about Iranian military presence in Syria, is now facing challenges on multiple fronts because of Ankara’s increasing role in Damascus after the toppling of deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December last year, Ayoub adds.

The veteran policy analyst also points out that Turkey’s military presence in Libya has also raised concerns for Israel, as the prospect of Ankara establishing a permanent military foothold in North Africa could open a new front against the Jewish state, given the region’s proximity to Europe and Israel’s own borders.

It would also enable Turkey to destabilise the wider Mediterranean region, where Israel has vital economic and military interests.

Amine Ayoub sums up that while Iran has been the greatest threat for Israel for decades, Turkey’s rise as an aggressive regional power with close ideological ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, presents an extensive and potentially dangerous challenge to the Jewish nation, which must adopt a multi-pronged strategy to address both the military and ideological aspects of the Turkish threat.