The Iranian threat to Israel has, if not disappeared, at least been dealt some heavy blows by Israeli action in the past couple of years – against Iran itself, and against its Hamas, Hezbollah and Youthi proxies. What next? Well, according to Yaakov Lappin in the JC, if Erdoğan has his way it could well be Turkey:
Under the personal and ideologically-driven Islamist direction of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey aspires to actively construct a strategic encirclement of Israel, an Israeli terrorism expert has warned, days after reports emerged stating that the Trump administration was weighing allowing Ankara to purchase F-35 fighter jets.
Turkey’s willingness to back US President Donald Trump’s 20-point truce plan has reportedly increased its chances of acquiring the stealth aircraft, though this has yet to be confirmed.
Dr Ely Karmon, a senior research scholar at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University in Herzliya and a member of the Israeli non-partisan group Coalition for Regional Security, told JNS in recent days: “If Erdoğan’s plan to take over Syria in the military domain succeeds and he receives approval for a military force, legitimacy and Qatari money for construction in Gaza, Turkey will largely replace the Iranian dream of enclosing Israel in a more dangerous military and political ring.”
Will Muslim rage against Israel ever end? Sunnis take over the Shiite axis. What will the Saudis – who like to think of themselves as Sunni leaders – make of all this?
Mick Hartley 
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