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 Israeli 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 is 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.
