By: Fern Sidman – Jewish Voice News

In a sweeping and calculated campaign to reassert Turkey as a dominant power in the Middle East, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is extending his reach across a region still reeling from war, upheaval, and diplomatic realignment. As The Algemeiner reported on Friday, Ankara’s recent moves — from deepening military ties with Syria and Lebanon to courting Iran, Saudi Arabia, and even Germany — have triggered mounting concern in Jerusalem and among Israel’s Western allies.

At the center of this expanding web of influence is Erdogan’s ambition to secure a role in post-war Gaza, a prospect that Israeli officials have categorically rejected, warning that Turkey’s growing involvement could destabilize fragile peace efforts and embolden Hamas, the Iranian-backed terrorist organization that still holds sway over parts of the enclave.

As The Algemeiner report noted, Turkey’s foreign policy under Erdogan has long oscillated between East and West — courting NATO allies when convenient, while simultaneously cultivating partnerships with Islamist and anti-Western regimes. But the latest surge in Ankara’s regional activity marks something more deliberate and expansive: a bid to fill the strategic void left by weakened Arab states and distracted Western powers.

In a major development last week, Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding with Syria, dramatically expanding bilateral military cooperation. The agreement covers joint training programs, weapons access, and logistics coordination, marking a stunning turn for two nations that only a few years ago stood on opposing sides of the Syrian civil war.

On Thursday, Turkey’s Defense Ministry confirmed that Syrian armed forces have begun training at Turkish facilities and will soon attend the country’s military academies. This alignment, The Algemeiner report observed, represents an “astonishing geopolitical reversal” — one that positions Ankara as both mentor and gatekeeper in Syria’s slow reintegration into regional diplomacy.

But the move also complicates Israel’s delicate negotiations with Damascus. Syria is reportedly in the final stages of talks with Jerusalem over a U.S.-backed border security agreement, one that could see the creation of a joint Israeli–Syrian–American oversight committee. The Turkish-Syrian rapprochement, in this context, threatens to inject an unpredictable element into already sensitive discussions — potentially giving Erdogan indirect leverage over Israel’s northern frontier.

Simultaneously, Turkey has accelerated its engagement with Lebanon, a country on the brink of yet another collapse. As the Lebanese government faces mounting pressure to enforce a ceasefire and disarm Hezbollah, Ankara has stepped in, offering to bolster the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) under the guise of peacekeeping support.

As The Algemeiner report detailed, Turkey’s Defense Ministry announced a two-year extension of its peacekeeping mission in Beirut, emphasizing “efforts to enhance security, promote stability, and support the LAF’s development.” While couched in the language of international cooperation, the move aligns neatly with Erdogan’s broader strategy: to position Turkey as an indispensable actor in any post-Hezbollah Lebanon.

The timing is not coincidental. Hezbollah’s refusal to disarm, despite international pressure, has opened a power vacuum that Turkey is eager to fill. By aligning itself with Lebanon’s official army — and, by extension, with factions opposed to Iran’s dominance — Ankara is seeking to reshape Lebanon’s balance of power from within.

Yet Erdogan’s history of hostility toward Israel casts a long shadow over these initiatives. He has repeatedly accused Israel of “genocide” in Gaza and “expansionist aggression” across the region. As The Algemeiner report noted, Turkish officials have gone as far as describing Israeli strikes against Hezbollah as “acts of terror,” language that underscores Ankara’s drift toward anti-Israel populism even as it embeds itself in the heart of Israel’s volatile northern neighborhood.

Nowhere, however, are Turkey’s ambitions more controversial than in Gaza, where Erdogan has sought to position his country as a “protector and partner” in post-war reconstruction efforts.

Under President Trump’s peace plan, international forces — including contingents from Egypt, the UAE, Azerbaijan, and Indonesia — may be invited to oversee the ceasefire and help stabilize the enclave. Turkey, however, has lobbied aggressively to join this International Stabilization Force, offering to provide troops and logistical support.

Erdogan declared that Turkey was “ready to provide all kinds of support to Gaza,” adding that his forces could serve “in a military or civilian capacity as needed.”

Yet, as The Algemeiner reported, Israel has drawn a red line. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has flatly rejected any Turkish participation, warning that Ankara’s involvement would pose an unacceptable security risk. The Israeli government’s position is shared by several Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both of which fear that Turkey and its ally Qatar could use reconstruction efforts to smuggle funds and weapons to Hamas.

These concerns are hardly theoretical. Turkey’s ties to Hamas are well-documented. Over the past decade, Erdogan’s government has granted refuge to Hamas leaders, allowed them to fundraise and plan operations from Turkish soil, and repeatedly defended the group as “resistance fighters.” The Algemeiner report noted that Ankara’s consistent defense of Hamas — even in the face of international condemnation — remains one of the biggest obstacles to genuine regional peace.

Analysts warn that Turkey’s potential involvement in Gaza’s reconstruction could legitimize Hamas’s political arm and enable the group to reconstitute its military infrastructure under the guise of civilian projects. As one Israeli official told The Algemeiner, “Any Turkish presence in Gaza would be a Trojan horse — a humanitarian façade masking a strategic foothold for Hamas.”

Further heightening regional concerns is Turkey’s deepening partnership with Iran. Despite longstanding competition between the two nations for regional dominance, Erdogan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian have recently found common ground in their shared opposition to Western influence and Israel’s growing normalization with Arab states.

During high-level talks in Tehran this week, the two countries pledged to “deepen mutual cooperation on political, economic, and security matters.” In a statement highlighted in The Algemeiner report, Pezeshkian emphasized the “importance of strengthening regional stability and resisting external interference.”

In practice, this means expanding intelligence sharing, energy cooperation, and — perhaps most concerningly — coordination over regional conflicts, from Iraq to Gaza. Both nations have a history of supporting Islamist militias and using proxy networks to project power. Their renewed alignment could spell trouble for Israel, especially as Ankara and Tehran align their rhetoric around the “Palestinian cause.”

For Israel, this emerging Turkish-Iranian axis represents a new and unpredictable front — one that blurs the traditional lines between Sunni and Shia power blocs and complicates Washington’s efforts to isolate Iran diplomatically.

Even as Erdogan deepens ties with Iran and Syria, he has also sought rapprochement with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman, reflecting a pragmatic recognition that economic partnerships are essential to sustaining Turkey’s geopolitical ambitions.

During his recent diplomatic tour of the Gulf, Erdogan pursued trade, energy, and defense agreements, while quietly lobbying for Arab support of Turkish participation in Gaza’s reconstruction.

In Riyadh, Turkish ambassador Emrullah Isler celebrated the countries’ growing defense cooperation, writing on X (formerly Twitter): “Turkey and Saudi Arabia are key regional actors that share a commitment to peace, stability, and international law.” The statement,  cited in The Algemeiner report, underscored Erdogan’s attempt to present Turkey as a stabilizing force — even as its actions suggest otherwise.

This duality — projecting moderation abroad while stoking anti-Israel sentiment at home — has become a hallmark of Erdogan’s foreign policy. The Algemeiner report noted that while Turkey engages in pragmatic diplomacy with Arab states, its domestic media continues to portray Israel as an existential threat, reinforcing Erdogan’s populist credentials among conservative voters.

Turkey’s expansionist campaign does not stop at the Middle East. In a recent meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Erdogan sought to reframe Ankara’s relationship with Europe, emphasizing Turkey’s importance as a bridge between East and West.

At a joint press conference, Merz described Turkey as a “close partner of the European Union,” expressing optimism about deepening cooperation. Yet, as The Algemeiner report pointed out, Erdogan’s outreach to Berlin — which he has also accused of “ignoring genocide” in Gaza — reveals a striking contradiction: a leader who castigates Europe’s moral failings while simultaneously seeking its economic and political approval.

This balancing act — condemning the West’s support for Israel even as he pursues trade and defense deals with Western powers — reflects Erdogan’s deft, if cynical, understanding of geopolitical leverage.

For Israel, Turkey’s resurgence represents a complex challenge. On one hand, Ankara’s military might and proximity make outright confrontation impractical. On the other, Erdogan’s open alignment with Hamas and his deepening ties to anti-Israel regimes present a growing strategic threat.

As The Algemeiner has reported, Israeli officials view Turkey’s ambitions in Gaza as particularly dangerous because they blur the line between humanitarian engagement and political interference. By embedding itself in post-war reconstruction, Turkey could gain a permanent foothold on Israel’s southern border — a scenario that Jerusalem is determined to prevent.

Netanyahu’s “red line” on Turkish involvement underscores Israel’s broader concern that post-war Gaza could become an arena for competing foreign agendas — with Turkey, Qatar, and Iran on one side, and Israel’s Western and Arab partners on the other.

As The Algemeiner has consistently documented, Erdogan’s ambitions stretch far beyond Gaza or Syria. His ultimate objective appears to be the restoration of Turkey’s role as the preeminent Muslim power — a modern echo of Ottoman influence that blends Islamist ideology with nationalist pride.

To achieve this, Ankara is weaving a complex tapestry of alliances: one strand tied to the Islamist bloc of Iran, Hamas, and Qatar; another connected to pragmatic economic partners like Saudi Arabia and Germany. The result is a fluid, opportunistic foreign policy that allows Erdogan to play multiple sides while steadily expanding Turkey’s footprint.

Yet this strategy carries immense risks. By aligning with anti-Israel forces and legitimizing terrorist entities such as Hamas, Erdogan risks isolating Turkey from the democratic and economic partnerships that underpin its prosperity. And by positioning himself as both mediator and agitator, he risks igniting the very instability he claims to oppose.

As The Algemeiner report observed, the question now confronting Israel, the United States, and the broader international community is not merely how to contain Turkey’s influence — but how to prevent Erdogan’s regional ambitions from turning an already volatile Middle East into an arena of renewed confrontation.