Israel’s Saar accuses Turkey of hypocrisy over Syria and Cyprus

Jerusalem, Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar on Friday accused Turkey of hypocrisy, saying Ankara continues to occupy territory in Syria and Cyprus while criticising Israel’s military actions in the region.

His comments followed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s accusation that Israel was “destabilising Syria”.

Response to Turkish criticism

Writing on X, Saar said the criticism came from “the same Turkish leadership that has been violating Syria’s sovereignty for decades, while delivering cynical lessons in international law to others”.

He said Turkey continues to maintain troops in Cyprus’ occupied north while carrying out military operations in Syria and Iraq.

Claims over Syrian territory

Saar said Turkey occupies around five per cent of Syrian territory in the formerly held Kurdish north and is seeking to establish military bases in the country.

He said Turkey’s objective was to undermine Israel’s security.

By comparison, Saar said Israel controls around 0.1 per cent of Syrian territory, referring to the Golan Heights. He described Israel’s presence as a security measure after what he called “Syrian terrorists” entered the demilitarised zone in December 2024, in breach of the 1974 Israel-Syria disengagement agreement.

Israel’s position

“What Fidan wants is for Israel to stop protecting itself from threats to its security. That is not going to happen,” Saar said.