By: Fern Sidman – Jewish Voice News

Israel’s Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, Amichai Chikli, delivered one of the most forceful assessments yet of Turkey’s strategic posture in the Middle East, asserting that Ankara today represents “the greatest threat to the State of Israel.” His remarks, given in an interview with the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation and cited by i24 News in a report on Sunday, offered a sweeping critique of Turkish regional ambitions and called for a recalibrated Israeli strategy focused on strengthened alliances across the Eastern Mediterranean.

Chikli’s comments come at a moment of intensifying geopolitical flux, with shifting alliances, postwar calculations, and the steady erosion of traditional regional boundaries shaping new strategic realities. Within this volatile landscape, Chikli argued, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan are spearheading an assertive foreign policy that directly undermines Israel’s security interests and empowers destabilizing forces along its northern frontier.

According to the information provided in the i24 News report, Chikli placed particular emphasis on what he described as Ankara’s “very aggressive foreign policy,” one that blends military expansion, ideological influence, and tactical alliances with radical militias.

He noted that Turkey’s strategic trajectory over the last decade has been marked by Increasing support for Islamist political movements across the region, vocal diplomatic hostility toward Israel in international forums, military interventions in Syria, Libya, and Iraq, naval expansionism in the Eastern Mediterranean and political alignment with factions openly hostile to Israel.

Chikli warned that these developments cannot be dismissed as rhetorical posturing, emphasizing that they are underpinned by concrete military and intelligence activities that increasingly threaten Israel’s national security.

At the core of Chikli’s warning is Turkey’s expanding military infrastructure in northern Syria, an area of profound strategic sensitivity for Israel.

The minister pointed to Turkey’s construction of fortified bases and operational hubs supporting jihadist factions led by Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the commander of the powerful Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) organization, formerly affiliated with al-Qaeda.

Such entrenched Turkish-backed militias, Chikli noted, have increased their operational reach and formed a resilient paramilitary network with access to advanced weaponry, logistical corridors, and Turkish intelligence cooperation.

“Israel must realize that evil will come from the north,” he said, underscoring that Ankara’s deepening entrenchment in the region could create a hostile and unpredictable security environment for Israel’s northern borders.

According to the information contained in the i24 News report, intelligence assessments suggest that Turkey’s investment in proxy forces is part of a long-term objective to shape the post-conflict political landscape of Syria, extend Turkish influence across the Levant, and solidify Erdoğan’s aspiration to become the dominant regional power broker.

Chikli attributed Turkey’s increasingly combative posture to the strategic direction set by President Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, arguing that their leadership has reoriented Ankara toward ideological extremism and open confrontation with Israel.

The i24 News report noted that both figures have become frequent critics of Israel’s defense operations, while simultaneously cultivating ties with Hamas leadership and amplifying anti-Israel rhetoric on the global stage.

Chikli’s comments suggested that this ideological realignment, coupled with Turkey’s military projects, has transformed Ankara from a difficult diplomatic rival into a primary national security concern—a shift with far-reaching implications for Israel’s long-term strategic planning.

To counter what he views as an expanding Turkish threat, Chikli called for a significant expansion of Israel’s diplomatic and economic cooperation with its most dependable regional partners: Cyprus, Greece, and Italy.

As reported by i24 News, these countries have emerged as cornerstone allies in energy security, particularly through cross-border natural gas exploration and pipeline negotiations, naval coordination in the Eastern Mediterranean, strategic intelligence-sharing, joint military exercises and naval patrols and economic collaboration in emerging technology sectors.

Chikli argued that this trilateral and multilateral alignment is essential to safeguarding freedom of navigation, deterring Turkish expansionism, and advancing Israel’s broader economic interests across Europe and the Mediterranean basin.

The minister emphasized that the Eastern Mediterranean is no longer a peripheral security zone but a central arena in the contest for regional influence—one that requires cohesive, institutionalized cooperation among Israel and its European partners.

Chikli addressed another critical security issue reported by i24 News: the potential sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to countries within the Middle East.

He reaffirmed Israel’s firm opposition to such sales, stating unequivocally that advanced U.S. military technology should not be introduced into the region unless accompanied by comprehensive normalization agreements with Israel.

Israel has long maintained its qualitative military edge (QME)—a doctrine supported by U.S. law—as a cornerstone of its security strategy.

Chikli argued that distributing fifth-generation stealth aircraft to regional actors could undermine Israel’s air superiority, enable technology leaks to hostile powers, destabilize regional military balances and encourage coercive diplomacy by adversarial states.

He added that such discussions must remain tightly linked to Israeli diplomatic objectives, particularly in the context of ongoing U.S.-Saudi negotiations.

Addressing the broader geopolitical context, Chikli reiterated Israel’s steadfast opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of any normalization framework involving Saudi Arabia.

According to the report on i24 News, the minister underscored that Israel will not support or accept external pressure to embed a two-state solution into diplomatic accords.

Chikli stressed that prior international initiatives linking normalization to Palestinian statehood have historically strengthened extremist factions and produced instability, reinforcing Israel’s long-held position against externally imposed territorial concessions.

His remarks reflect the current government’s overarching diplomatic doctrine: securing normalization based on strategic partnership—not territorial compromise.

Throughout his remarks, Chikli framed Turkey’s ascent not as a distant geopolitical challenge but as a present, escalating, and deeply consequential threat.

As i24 News has reported, his assessment reflects growing unease within Israel’s defense and diplomatic communities, who view Ankara’s ambitions as part of a broader pattern of ideological radicalization, military adventurism, and aggressive foreign policy restructuring under Erdoğan’s rule.

Chikli’s message appears to signal a call for strategic reorientation in terms of greater vigilance against Turkish-backed militias, stronger alliances across the Mediterranean, heightened resistance to regional weapons proliferation and a clear rejection of diplomatic concessions tied to Palestinian statehood.

In an interview marked by clarity and urgency, Minister Amichai Chikli presented a comprehensive warning about the path Turkey is carving in the Middle East—a path he believes threatens Israel’s security, stability, and long-term strategic interests.

As the i24News report observed, his remarks highlight a rapidly shifting regional environment that demands expanded alliances, tightened defense coordination, and unwavering diplomatic resolve.

For Israel, Chikli argued, the stakes are high—and the time to respond is now.