The recent Israeli strike on the Abu al-Duhur airbase in northwestern Syria has sharply raised tensions between Tel Aviv and Ankara. To prevent an intentional or inadvertent slide into direct confrontation, the first step is to clarify and map both actors' interests.
Israel does not seek a direct confrontation with Türkiye, but it seeks to preserve its freedom of action in Syrian airspace. This could be in anticipation of possible future contingencies involving Iran, or it could relate to Israel's deep suspicion of the new government in Damascus led by Ahmed al-Sharaa. But putting those two potential reasons aside, Israel generally wants to prevent Turkish influence in Syria from becoming too broad or deeply entrenched, and it especially does not want Ankara to expand its military presence further south, beyond its current stationing in northern Syria.
Türkiye likewise has no interest in a direct confrontation with Israel. It is, however, increasingly alarmed by what it perceives as Israel's "high-intensity activity" across multiple regional fronts, and is wary of Israel establishing supreme hegemony across the Middle East. Ankara is a staunch backer of the Sharaa government in Damascus and sees it as vital to protecting its interests in Syria, particularly on the Kurdish issue.
