Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, says Turkey and Syria are “far more concerning” than Iran. Speaking at the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Chikli argues that a “Muslim Brotherhood axis” is taking shape, linking “Erdogan’s Turkiye” and “al-Sharaa’s Syria,” and adding Qatar to the grouping. He contrasts this with what he describes as the end of a previous “Shiite empire” involving Iran, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Hezbollah.
Chikli also previously warned that Israel “will be at war with Syria,” and he has referred to a “radical Sunni axis of evil,” including Turkey, Qatar and Pakistan. His remarks come as tensions between Turkey and Israel rise, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying that Israel’s attacks in Syria and Lebanon pose a threat to Turkey. Additional reporting cited by Middle East Eye notes that other Israeli figures have called for treating Turkey as an “enemy state,” and an analysis by the Israeli newspaper Maariv says Turkey may represent a growing long-term challenge due to expanding military capabilities and a growing defence industry.
