Tensions Spike Between Turkey and Israel as They Vie for Influence
土以互槓 中東動盪加劇
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has in recent years referred to Israel as a “terror state,” compared its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to Hitler and suggested the possibility of Turkish military intervention inside Israel.
Netanyahu, for his part, has called Erdogan an “antisemitic dictator,” and members of the Israeli government have accused Turkey of supporting terrorism and acting like “an enemy state.”
內唐亞胡則稱厄多安是「反猶獨裁者」，以色列政府成員也指責土耳其支持恐怖主義、行為像「敵國」。
This war of words is the most visible feature of a growing rivalry between Turkey and Israel that analysts and officials fear could exacerbate volatility in the Middle East, a region already reeling from wars and their aftermath in Syria, Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and Iran.
Turkey and Israel are allies of the United States and have warm relations with the Trump administration. But the countries, boasting strong militaries that are increasingly active outside their borders, are pursuing strategic visions that put them at odds in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The heightened military assertiveness by Turkey and Israel has fueled “an inevitable geostrategic competition and rivalry,” said Ziya Meral, director of Raven Research and Advisory, a global risk consultancy in London.
倫敦風險顧問公司Raven Research and Advisory主任齊亞・梅拉爾說，兩國日益強硬的軍事姿態，助長了「無可避免的地緣戰略競爭」。
That does not mean the two countries will end up in open conflict, he said, but he warned that limited military action by one side to “send a message” to the other “could really, really backfire.”
Israel made just such a move Aug. 18, when it bombed a defunct air base in northern Syria to preempt what Israeli officials said was the imminent deployment there of Turkish forces. Syria sits between Israel and Turkey, and both consider it crucial to national security.
The Turkish and Syrian governments denied plans for any such troop movement to the air base. No one was killed in the attack.
土耳其與敘利亞政府否認有任何部隊移往該基地的計畫，這次攻擊無人傷亡。
Turkey and Israel have long had diplomatic and trade relations despite occasional disputes.
土耳其與以色列長期維持外交與貿易關係，偶爾有爭執。
Two recent events, however, have driven the relationship’s acrimonious turn.
但有兩件事讓關係急轉直下。
The first was Israel’s war in Gaza. Turkish officials criticized how Israel fought in Gaza and routinely accused Israeli forces of committing genocide. Erdogan called Netanyahu a “bloodsucking vampire” and voiced support for Hamas.
The second was the ouster of dictator Bashar Assad in Syria in late 2024 and the creation of a new government headed by President Ahmad al-Sharaa, a former jihadi with strong ties to Turkey.
