Israeli diplomat and politician Einat Wilf said on Tuesday, 25 August that Israel's recent military strikes in Syria were not the opening of a full-blown new front, but a calculated signal directed at Turkey and the Ahmed Al-Sharaa-led regime in Damascus. Wilf, speaking to reporters, framed the strikes as a preemptive message — not an escalation.

Two Core Concerns Driving Israeli Anxiety

Wilf outlined two distinct but interconnected worries shaping Israel's posture toward Syria. The first centres on the nature of the Damascus regime itself. 'We are concerned about two elements. The first is that Syria itself requires a major leap of faith in the sense that it is ruled by a person who has a long history as a militant jihadi. They have massacred some of their minority populations like the Alawites and the Druze and the Christians. It seems that they are not exactly heading in the direction of a modern secular democracy that will uphold human rights,' Wilf said.

The second concern, she argued, is the role of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in backing the Damascus administration. 'The second concern is that all of this will be backed by Erdogan's Turkey, which also seems to be propping up the Muslim Brotherhood, essentially jihadi forces. Israel did not fight Iran and its proxies across the region to get Turkey and its proxies on our borders,' she added.

Erdogan's Imperial Ambitions: Beyond Neo-Ottomanism

Wilf was pointed in her characterisation of Erdogan's strategic vision, arguing that it transcends the commonly used 'neo-Ottoman' label. 'They're not neo-Ottoman, they're not the old Ottoman Empire. They're new Islamic caliphate-style, jihadi-style ambitions. And Syria for him is a key element, like he needs to secure Syria in order to continue from there to Iraq and other places,' she said.

This framing is significant: it positions Turkey not merely as a regional power seeking historical influence, but as an ideological actor with expansionist designs — a characterisation that Ankara has consistently rejected. Notably, this is not the first time Israeli officials have raised alarms over Turkey's growing footprint in post-Assad Syria; the concern has deepened since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government.

Israel's Stated Strategy: Address Threats Early

Wilf was clear that Israel does not view the current situation as a precursor to a full-scale conflict with Syria. 'I don't think we're likely to see it as a full-blown front, but there's definitely a notion that Israel is trying to manage the security risk. What we've learned from history is that it's better to try to address those threats when they're small rather than let them build and build and ultimately enjoy the full power of a state,' she said.

She added that the underlying Israeli objective is to prevent the consolidation of what she described as a 'jihadi state' on its northern border — a scenario Jerusalem views as categorically unacceptable. 'Israel is not turning a blind eye and that we will not allow Turkey and a jihadi state to be established on our borders,' Wilf noted.

Syria-Israel Talks Under US Mediation

The remarks came amid active diplomatic engagement. Senior Syrian and Israeli delegations held talks in Jordan on Sunday under US mediation, according to Syria's state news agency SANA. The discussions focused on de-escalation and efforts to revive negotiations toward a formal security agreement — a rare channel of communication between the two sides.

Whether these back-channel talks can coexist with Israel's periodic military signalling in Syrian territory remains an open question. Analysts have noted that Jerusalem has historically used strikes to set red lines even while pursuing parallel diplomatic tracks.