US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is hopeful that Turkey will decide to become a stabilizing force in the Middle East.
“I don’t think we know the full extent of it – whether they are helpful or not,” he told The Jerusalem Post in an interview on Monday. “Let’s hope that they will decide to be helpful.”
Israel attacked Syria’s Abu al-Duhur airbase on August 18, shortly before Turkish troops and air-defense systems were deployed there.
Following the airstrike, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Israel will continue to act forcefully against any attempts by Turkey to undermine stability in the region and against any threat to its security.”
The full interview with Huckabee will be published in the Post’s Frontlines section on Friday, ahead of the US Embassy in Israel’s 250th Independence Day event, which is set to take place at Jerusalem’s Museum of Tolerance.
Huckabee described the airstrike as a warning.
“For those who are familiar with American baseball, I’ll give you an analogy,” he said. “When the batter steps up to the plate and he crowds it, which means he gets a little closer than he really should be, a pitcher, particularly in the major leagues, who knows how to control the ball will throw one that’ll come right across his chest and sometimes touch his jersey… The point he’s making is, back away from the plate. You’ve proven your point, but I’m about to prove mine. If you don’t step back from the plate, the next one is going to hit you hard.”
Since Israel did not kill anyone or destroy significant infrastructure – only the airport’s runway was hit – Huckabee said the airstrike was “sort of like the pitcher in baseball brushing the batter back and saying, ‘Okay, you’re moving into an area you’re not supposed to be in, and we don’t think it’s a good idea for you to encroach closer and closer to us. So, here’s a warning.’ And like in baseball, the message is: ‘Now back up, and let’s continue the game.’”
Turkey's criticism of Israel on the rise
In recent months, senior Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have sharply criticized Israel. Among other statements, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Israel is “a problem for all of humanity,” and it has become “a burden and a weight that humanity can no longer bear.”
“Certainly, we have concerns when we hear some of the comments that come out of Turkish officials,” Huckabee told the Post.
“There’s also genuine concern about the avenue of financing that comes through Turkey to Hamas in Gaza,” he said. “That’s a serious issue that we monitor and care deeply about. The last thing anyone in the Middle East needs is anything to give it a greater level of destabilization.”
US President Donald Trump is attempting to bridge the differences between the two countries, Huckabee said.
“He has good relations with President Erdogan; they seem to have a good rapport,” he said. “But President Trump has an excellent relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He bridges that gap somehow.”
US working to open dialogue between Israel, Turkey, and Syria
Since the airstrike, the US administration, led by US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who is also the special envoy for Syria, has been working to establish a mechanism aimed at easing tensions between Israel, Turkey, and Syria.
Last week, Mossad Director Roman Gofman met with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani to prevent further tensions and resume dialogue between the two countries.
“The last thing anyone in the Middle East needs is anything to give it a greater level of destabilization,” Huckabee told the Post. “So, everyone is working hard to try to keep people talking to each other.”
When tensions arise, he said, de-escalation requires the establishment of a mechanism, “which now we’ve done, so that there’s communication between Israel, Turkey, the United States, Syria, and Lebanon, making sure that before things spin out of control, there are conversations that hopefully bring the temperature down.”