A News Agency

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had accused Israel of destabilizing Syria and rejected those allegations.

Criticizing Turkish leaders' references to international law, Saar claimed: "Turkey occupies five percent of Syria and seeks to establish military bases inside Syria in order to undermine Israel's security."

Commenting on Israel's presence in Syria, Saar said: "After Syrian militants violated the 1974 Israel-Syria Disengagement Agreement by entering the buffer zone in December 2024, Israel has maintained a buffer zone covering only one-tenth of one percent of Syrian territory in order to protect itself from terrorist groups seeking to attack Israel from southern Syria."

Referring to Turkey's regional policies and past military operations, Saar said: "Under President Erdoğan, Turkey has conducted extensive military operations against Kurdish forces across Syria and Iraq, repeatedly threatened neighboring states, occupied 36 percent of Cyprus for more than half a century, and faced widespread international criticism over its human rights record."

Saar concluded: "What Minister Fidan wants is for Israel to stop defending itself against threats to its security. That will not happen. Israel will continue to take all necessary measures to defend its citizens against every threat."