Katz says claim ‘full of inaccuracies,’ Jerusalem made diplomatic effort to avoid recent bombing of base near Turkish border; Tom Barrack confirms Mossad chief spoke with Syrian FM ahead of strike
US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack suggested in an interview broadcast Friday that a recent Israeli strike on a Syrian military airport, where Israel claimed Turkey was set to deploy troops, could have been an attempt by Israel to “bait” Turkey into conflict ahead of the elections.
In a wide-ranging interview with Mario Nawfal, a Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur, Barrack, who is also US special presidential envoy for Syria and Iraq, directly contradicted US foreign policy, by saying that Israel was illegally occupying the Golan Heights.
Asked about the attack on the airbase, Barrack said that Israel was trying to draw Turkey into conflict was one of two “postulated theories” as to why Israel carried out the strike despite ongoing contacts between Israel, the US and Syria over Jerusalem’s concerns.
Israel confirmed late Tuesday that it was behind overnight airstrikes against a military airport in northern Syria, where it claimed Turkey was planning to deploy forces in violation of agreements between Jerusalem and Damascus.
“One theory is they were just baiting Turkey, and it’s a very aggressive, but maybe well-received, pre-election concept,” Barrack said, implying that conflict between Israel and Turkey would serve Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the elections scheduled for October 27.
Barrack also put forth the possibility that the strike on the base was the result of confusion between various Israeli security bodies. “The other theory is that between the IDF, the Mossad and the Prime Minister’s Office there was a miscommunication,” he said.
The ambassador cast doubt on Israel’s claim that Turkey was moving military assets into Syria’s northwestern Abu al-Duhur military airport, saying US intel did not indicate such action.
Elsewhere in the interview, Barrack also said that Israel “occupies” the Golan Heights, in direct contradiction to the official US position, after Washington recognized Israeli sovereignty over the territory during US President Donald Trump’s first term.
The envoy is known to regularly pontificate about Middle East developments in public—a rarity for a sitting US official —but it is often unclear whether his comments represent administration policy or his own.
In response, Defense Minister Israel Katz said Barrack’s remarks were “full of inaccuracies” and included “positions that contradict the position of US President Trump.”
Regarding the strike in Syria, Katz said the Israeli military had recommended “several times” striking Syria’s Abu Duhur military airport due to Turkey’s alleged plans to deploy forces there, which “would endanger the security of the State of Israel.”
Katz said that after several discussions held with Netanyahu and the military, “it was agreed that before granting approval [for the strike], a direct warning would be issued to the Syrian regime at the highest levels in an attempt to prevent [Turkey’s] move, and that is what was done.”
He added that “at the same time, the intelligence was conveyed to the relevant authorities in the United States.” After Israel’s warning “went unanswered,” Katz said he and Netanyahu “authorized the IDF to carry out the strike, and it was successfully carried out.”
Long-tense relations between Israel and Turkey have intensified even further in recent days, with Ankara issuing another arrest warrant for Netanyahu, accusing him of “genocide” in Gaza. Israel vociferously denies the charges.
In March 2019, Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, reversing decades of US policy. Colombia became the second country to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan this month, joining the United States.
Barrack’s remarks sparked a backlash Saturday from conservative activist and US presidential ally Laura Loomer, who posted on X that he “should resign for his lack of understanding of US foreign policy.”
AP contributed to this report.
